Cinq
by iwandamonian
Summary: Haunted by her memories, Victoria Hammond finds out she's a Mutant after her guardian is murdered. With the help of the X-Men, she learns about her five Mutations, and what happened to her before the age of ten.
1. Un

Fanfiction deus.

_It was dark, and cold, and wet, and the six year old was crying; she was short, looking three years younger than she did, and her flaming red hair was plastered to her head. Her brilliant green eyes were red from her tears, from the dirt and from the horrible sight she had just witnessed. She was sitting in a mud puddle, holding her little baby brother's bloody jacket and her older sister's glove, trying to forget the images burning into her brain. Her mother and father were in front of her, shielding her from view but soon they had joined the pile of corpses, leaving the girl all alone._

_She wailed as she dragged her legs over to the pile and clutched her mother's hand tight, and wanted so much to have her alive again. Just as she reached for her father, a man in a long trench coat ran into view, holding an arm erect and pointed at her. There wasn't any time to even scream as the bullet sped out of the gun and embedded itself in her stomach, sending her flying back. She lay on her side, staring at the mud puddle she was lying in, and watched as the man left in a hurry._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Eight years later, a girl called Victoria Hammond woke up from the nightmare screaming and covered in sticky sweat. She had this dream every night, and had been having it for the past few weeks; quickly she got out of her bed and raced to the bathroom, where she began throwing up her dinner of meatloaf. Her guardian, Kathy Voke, rushed to her side and held her long red hair out of the way.

"Vickie, are you all right?" the middle-aged woman asked after Victoria stopped.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed and stood up, staggering over to the basin where she cleaned her face.

"Sweetie, this has been happening every night for the past three and a half _weeks_…I'm starting to worry. Is it a long-term stomach bug or something? Or are you allergic to something?"

"No, I just have these really horrible dreams that make me feel sick." Victoria, or Vickie as everyone called her, didn't like lying (besides the fact that she was shit at it) and promised herself she would never lie. She rinsed out her mouth and then went back to bed, feeling better. Kathy went back to her own bed and decided to let what was happening slide; she had been informed that something of this calibre might ensue when she had adopted Vickie, but it was still a surprise and shock that it was happening.

Vickie didn't even bother trying to sleep; she knew it would evade her so she picked up a book and began reading; it was her English assignment, to finish reading it by September and she was already two-thirds through. She read till it was time to go to school, then got up to get dressed in her uniform. It consisted of a pleated skirt, a blue blouse and a blue blazer; it was uncomfortable, and topped off with long white socks and black shoes it made her look ridiculous. But she got out of bed and prepared for school.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie and her best friend, Isabelle Cornwall, were on their way to school laughing and jesting; they had been friends for five years and nothing could interfere with them…although Robert Michael Andrews was soon to do so. He was hottest, coolest most popular boy in the ninth grade; he had sandy brown hair that seemed like a curly halo and his blue eyes were the most beautiful blue; he was good at everything, even Maths, and appealed even to older girls. Isabelle absolutely adored him, and never shut up about him; it took great patience to put up with all the talk that revolved around him. Vickie thought he was nice, and Isabelle chewed her out for it.

"Oh, I _know_ you think he's the most sexiest man in the world, Vicks!" Isabelle liked throwing in random names for Vickie and this was one of her favourites.

"Technically he's not yet a man," Vickie retorted.

"Well, have you seen someone hotter?"

Vickie's eyes bulged as she saw the two men walking towards them and soon Isabelle's jaw had dropped. One had brown hair, and he was wearing red shades; he was of an average height, and he wore plain black pants with a blue button up shirt. His companion would have to have been considered angelic; he was beautiful with blond hair and blue eyes; he wore tight denim jeans and a loose sweatshirt, and he flashed a smile their way. Isabelle swooned and Vickie cried out as she caught her skinny friend.

"Isabelle?" she cried, shaking her frantically. Isabelle didn't wake up. "Oh, of all times you had to faint why now? Isabelle? _Isabelle_!"

"Is everything all right?" Vickie gasped and looked up at the two beautiful men in front of her. They were even more dazzling up close and she blushed profusely.

"Uh…m-my friend just fainted, that's all." She struggled to keep Isabelle supported but didn't have to worry for much longer as the blond man scooped her up into his arms and smiled at Vickie.

"Let me help," he said and Vickie felt her heart melt.

"Th-thanks," she mumbled. "Um…the nurse's office is this way."

"Surely she'll revive if you splash cold water on her face." She looked at Shades and he was staring at her, though she couldn't see if he was irate or not.

"Oh…right." She pulled out her drink bottle, unscrewed the lid and poured half its contents on Isabelle's face. She came to spluttering and wiping away the water.

"Vicks, you loser! My make-ups gonna run."

"Sorry," Vickie replied automatically.

"You're sorry? Why I ought to ring your n…" Isabelle noticed she was in the angel's arms and then she went deep red. "I…I…h-hi," she said pathetically and Vickie couldn't help but smile. The angel smiled down at her and Vickie was sure she'd faint again; he gently set her on his feet and she 'tripped' over them, landing in his chest. He didn't seem too surprised and let her take in his scent before pushing her gently away by the shoulders.

"Are you all right now?" he asked, smiling at her. She opened her mouth to reply just as Vickie's phone went off with the Tetris theme. She jumped at the sudden sound and fumbled in her bag to pull it out; Isabelle was glaring at her for interrupting the moment but Vickie ignored her.

"Hello?" she answered.

"…_Is this Miss Victoria Hammond?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Hello, Miss Hammond. How are you?"_

"Uh, I'm good. Who is this?"

"_Oh, you needn't worry about that. What you should worry about is what I'm going to do to you when you get on school campus."_

"…Ethan Dunnaway, how did you get this number?"

"_Oh, relax. Your friend gave it to me."_ He chuckled.

"Why would Isabelle give you my number?" Vickie asked, glaring at her friend who seemed to shrink under the fiery gaze. "Did she think I was interested in you?"

"_Darling, you _are_ interested in me, you just hide it so wonderfully. So, I'll meet you at the benches at lunch and we can chat about how our relationship is developing."_

"Wait, no!" The line was dead. "Ethan, you jerk!" She put her phone away and glared at Isabelle. "Why'd you give that thug my number, Isabelle? I don't like him!"

"He said he'd tell me something about Robert if I did."

"God, you're so stupid! Now I'll get all these messages and phone calls from him!" She turned around and pulled her hair trying not to scream in annoyance. "_Noooo_, why does he like _me_? There are plenty of nice girls in his year so why me?" She whirled around nearly knocking Shades over; his hand was extended to her and she jerked back in surprise.

"Sorry about that," she said, blushing deeply. "Uh, just some guy I don't like."

"Clearly," Shades said dryly. "The bell's about to ring."

"Right let's go, Isabelle." Vickie grabbed her wrist and dragged her away before she could protest. Their first class was tedious Science with a dull Mr. Brandon. He was old, and couldn't hear properly though he hadn't retired at fifty-five or sixty-five. They were 'learning' about volcanos but ended up watching Dante's Peak for the rest of the lesson. Then it was time for PE, a class that Vickie liked. She was on the track team, a runner, and one of the fastest; Robert was also on the track team but she had never seen him run. They were throwing discusses around today, and Isabelle began crying because she dropped it on her foot.

"You're such a baby," Vickie said, still angry with her because of the whole Ethan issue.

"Shut up, Vickie!"

After that, they had break, then Maths and English. Vickie had forgotten all about Ethan and his threat of talking to her because English was such a distracting class; the teacher was hilarious, pulling pranks and teaching them in the weirdest ways like a finger puppet show and then drawing diagrams of Shakespeare on the board. When class finished, Isabelle said that she had go meet some of her other friends for a cheerleading meeting; Vickie went outside in the sun and sat down at a spare bench, pulling out an apple and biting into it. She pulled out a book and began reading but didn't get far as someone sat down next to her. Thinking it was Isabelle she started talking.

"So how was practise? Did you have fun skipping around in your little skirt and shaking pom-poms everywhere?" When her companion didn't answer, she looked up and then inhaled her mouthful, which sent her into a fit of coughing and choking. Ethan clapped her on the back with a big grin on his face and then laughed.

"Hello, Victoria," he said as charmingly as he could. "I didn't think you'd come. Clearly you _are_ interested in letting our relationship become more intimate."

"No," Vickie choked out. "I just forgot you and came here like I usually do."

"Oh, you're lying, I can tell." He smiled at her and she felt a blush rising. He was handsome, with angular features and long dark hair that hung over his dark blue eyes. He was tall, almost five ten, and Vickie always hated being around him because he made her look dwarfed. She barely reached his shoulder when they stood next to each other, and she hated it! As usual he was wearing the blue pants assigned for the boys uniform with a studded belt, his shirt was open revealing a black singlet and he had necklaces on.

"U-um," Vickie said, closing her book and putting it safely in her bag. She took a bite out of her apple, staring at the bench top with mild interest.

"So, would you consider going on a date?" Again Vickie inhaled her apple and nearly choked to death. She couldn't cough it up so Ethan did the honourable thing and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre; the apple bite flew through the air and landed on the grass. "Jesus, girl; you trying to die? Or are you just so surprised that I asked you out?"

"The latter." She wiped her wet eyes and looked at him with her green eyes. "Why me?" she asked suddenly.

"Why you what?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Why do you like _me_? Aren't there other better girls in your year you can fall for?"

Ethan thought about his answer and then shrugged. "Dunno…I guess I just like ya a lot better than any of the other girls in this dumb school."

"But _why_?" Vickie whined. "What did I do to make you notice me? I don't stand out in crowds, mainly because I'm so short, and no one gets a crush on me. It's just…unheard of and it makes feel…"

"Special? Popular?"

"Queasy…that someone actually likes me." Vickie sighed and looked down at her half eaten apple. "It was a real surprise when you started talking to me out of the blue, when you never liked talking to girls or anyone before."

"And would you believe it that it was a real surprise for me when I first realised I liked you?" Vickie looked at Ethan, who had a faint blush on his cheeks. It made him look like an adorable little kid and she blushed in return. An awkward silence fell on them and then Ethan slid closer to her, his leg touching hers. "You want to know when I first started liking you?" he asked, and she nodded slowly. "Well, it was a week after the year started and you were sitting here with your friend…whatever her name is…and I came up to you, yelling that this was my bench. Your friend…"

"Isabelle."

"Whatever. Your friend ran away screaming because she heard about me but you just sat there and looked at me. You said that there were plenty of benches I could own and that at the time this one belonged to you because you were occupying it." He laughed and brushed a loose her behind her ear; she blushed again. "No girl had ever been so bold and I guess I realised how awesome you were."

Vickie opened her mouth to protest. "I'm not awesome," she said hastily. "I…I'm a nerd and I don't have a social life and I…uh, I'm fickle and I'm really short."

"So? I'm dumb, I'm a thug, I beat innocent people up, I throw my weight around…but I still like you and you can't change that." He smiled and Vickie sighed biting into her apple. As soon as she pulled the fruit away, Ethan kissed her. She froze and stared at his closed eyes; his hand wound up through her plait and then he pulled away, grinning at her with a profound blush on his cheeks.

"Mm," he said. "You taste like apple, though that's understandable." He smiled and stood up, strutting away, leaving Vickie with a red face and a blank mind. Suddenly, she heard someone shrieking and looked up to see Isabelle sprinting towards her with a wide smile.

"You lucky little slut!" she cried and flung her arms around her neck. "I saw that kiss! Oh, you're so lucky!"

"…Isabelle, what just happened?" Vickie was still in a daze she didn't even realise she had been called a slut. "Did…did Ethan just kiss me or was that a dream?"

"Ethan kissed you, you moron!" Isabelle began shaking Vickie. "So, when's the next date?"

"We never went on a date," said Vickie faintly. "We just talked."

"What did you talk about, then? How he was going to get you in the end? What he plans to do with you when the time comes?"

"Isabelle, piss off." Vickie stood up. "This isn't helping."

"Okay, sorry. Jeez, can't you take a joke? I'm only looking out for your best interest here, because we're mates."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just…he _kissed_ me! Me! I was kissed my a sixteen year old, and I'm not fifteen yet!"

"You will be in a few days though." Isabelle smirked. "So what was it like? Was he brutal in his passionate moment?"

"Uh…actually, he was very gentle." Vickie blushed thinking back to that moment and sat down as she felt her head grow light.

"Really? A notorious thug was gentle?" Isabelle laughed. "You should see your face; it's all red! You must have liked it."

Vickie stood up and put her back to her friend. "…Maybe?"

Isabelle screamed in delight and tackled Vickie from behind; she screamed in shock and they fell to the ground just as the two beautiful men wandered towards them. The two girls were in a fit of hysterics as they stopped in front of them, and they didn't notice until Shades cleared his throat. The girls screamed in surprise and looked up at them and then slowly went red. They scrambled to their feet and looked sheepishly at their feet. Isabelle was the first to recover.

"Hello again," she said brightly. "I didn't get to thank you for this morning."

"It was nothing," the angel said, beaming at her. Vickie slowly looked up at them and saw Shades staring at her…or she thought he was; it was hard to tell because of his glasses. "I'm Warren Worthington, by the way. And this is my friend Scott Summers."

"Hi!" Isabelle chirruped. "I'm Isabelle Cornwall and this is my best friend Vicks Hammond."

"Uh, actually it's Vickie or Victoria. Isabelle just calls me that." She blushed as she saw Scott smirk, and wondered why he wore those shades. Also, she wondered why they were here. Her curiosity forced the question out of her.

"Well, we're here just to have a look around." Yeah, that's believable. "There's someone here who is causing trouble with…something to do with us and we want to find out who it is."

"Sounds fun," Isabelle said, even though it didn't. "So, what's this person doing? Are they stealing from your stocks or something?"

"Not particularly." Vickie regarded Scott with a suspicious gaze. "They're avoiding detection and we were sent here to find them."

"Do you have any clues as to who they are?" Vickie asked.

"Well, we know they're female, and he now that they go to this school but that's about it."

"What exactly are they doing?"

Scott gave Warren a quick glance and then he looked at Vickie. "I don't think it's something someone as young as you should hear."

"Oh, okay!" The bell rang and they parted. After school, Vickie was feeling happy. She was skipping home, smiling brightly and humming a cheerful tune and she didn't notice the black SUV following her; she got home and went up to her room to get changed. She pulled on her pyjamas: a pair of green boxers and a white singlet. She was talking with Kathy in the kitchen when her phone went off and she answered it.

"_Is this Miss Victoria Hammond?"_ the person asked.

"Ethan, you've already tried this and it didn't work."

"_I'm not Ethan, Miss Hammond. I represent an organization that deals with people like you and we'd like to have a chat with you."_

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to meet with you anytime soon. Bye." She hung up on the man spluttering and then set her phone down. She opened her mouth to tell her mother but the doorbell rang and Kathy went to answer it. There were a few minutes of silence and then Kathy screamed, a soft bang resonating from the entrance. There was a dull thud and Vickie became scared. She slid off her chair and wandered out to the entrance.

"Mom?" she called, rounding the corner. She screamed and backed hurriedly away into the kitchen. She grabbed her phone and called the first person she could: Ethan. She ran up to her room and closed the door, locking it and then running to her window.

"…_What."_ He sounded as if he'd been asleep.

"Ethan!" Vickie hissed frantically.

"…_Victoria?"_ he asked and then laughed. _"Are you calling to agree on a date?"_

"No, these men just killed my mom!" That brought tears to her eyes as she pushed the window up. "I need your help. Can you pick me up?"

"_From where?"_ he asked, and she heard him moving around.

"Uh…at the mall."

"_Why not at your house?"_

"They might kill you too!"

"_All right, I'll meet you there in five minutes."_ He hung up and Vickie put her phone in her pocket. She then slid out of her window and turned around, holding onto the ledge for dear life; there was a tree branch just a few feet out and she could probably make it. She readied herself for the jump and someone grabbed her wrists, yanking hard. She screamed and fought them off with her eyes closed; her bare foot slipped and she fell from her window, landing roughly on her side. Winded, she staggered to her feet and looked up to see a man dressed in black following her out the window.

She turned around and ran. There were other men in black in her front yard and she dodged them, screaming as she did. She got out onto the street and then let her training take over; she launched into top gear and flew down the middle of the road, ignoring the honks from passing cars. She heard the screech of tires behind her and looked over her shoulder to see a black SUV speeding down the middle of the road towards her; that whipped her into a frenzy and she sped up as much as she could. In three minutes she was at the mall, and she saw Ethan waiting out the front. She screamed his name and he saw her sprinting towards him; he leapt in the car, and left the door open; Vickie reached him and nearly dived in after him. She scrambled over him and he closed his door, starting the engine and speeding away. Vickie did her seatbelt up, her chest heaving from her exertion and watched as the black SUV turned the corner in front of them, nearly tipping on its side. It screeched to a stop as Ethan turned left away from them, and he did up his seatbelt.

"Shit!" he yelled. "What the hell is going on?"

"I…don't know," Vickie gasped. "But…they killed my mom, Ethan." She looked at him through her tears. "They shot her and I raced upstairs before they could shoot me. Some guy tried to grab me when I was trying to escape and I fell. Then that car was chasing me all the way here and…I'm so scared! I don't know what they want!"

"Hey, calm down. You're safe here." He placed a warm hand on her knee and she stared at him. "I won't let them get you, all right?" He smiled at her and she nodded. "Now, did you receive any messages or a phone call from anyone you don't know?"

"Um…I got this phone call from some man just before…the incident, and he said his company wanted to meet with me but I refused and hung up on him. He might be the one who killed her. But I don't understand; why would they want _me_? I'm just a normal girl."

"Well whatever the reason, we're in trouble. That SUV is gaining on us." Vickie looked out the back and sure enough the black car was quickly gaining on them. Ethan sped up and wove through the traffic; he ran a red light and almost hit a Pulsar. The SUV took the front end of a Magna and kept driving after them; the windows were tinted and Vickie turned around, staring out the window. Suddenly, the back window shattered and then there was a clunking noise coming from the boot.

"They're shooting at us!" Ethan yelled and swerved into oncoming traffic, weaving all over the road. He swerved around a semi-trailer and nearly hit a bus but quickly swerved away again; the SUV had to brake to avoid crashing and soon they were far behind. Ethan got back onto the right side of the road and then sped away. The adrenaline that had been coursing through the pair began to slow and soon they were panting and feeling exhausted. Ethan pulled up to a large house and stopped the engine, leaning back in his seat.

"That was intense," he said and then dived into action. He got out o the car, opened her door and then pulled her out of the car roughly. He dragged her up to the front door of the house and then kicked open the door; someone swore and then came barrelling out into the entry.

"Ethan, you moron! Use a key!" It must have been his father because she could see the resemblance in the hair and face. "Who's this?" he asked, staring at her.

"This is Victoria," Ethan said and then dragged her up the stairs and to his room. He closed the door and Vickie thought he was going to try and seduce her; she cringed as he came towards her but he didn't touch her. He slammed open his wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and some shorts; he tossed them to her, ordering her to put them on. Hurriedly, she pulled the shirt over her head and then stared at him, clutching the shorts tight. He got the message and turned around; Vickie pulled off her boxers and then stepped into the shorts; they fitted her like pants. She pulled out her phone as Ethan turned around and he swore; he snatched her phone away and threw it out the window where it smashed into a tree.

"What was that for?" Vickie yelled at him.

"They could trace you if you use it," he explained calmly. "Now, we have to get out of town."

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Vickie crossed her arms. "_We _aren't been chased; _we_ didn't have our mother's shot to death. And _we_ aren't going anywhere together…" She blushed. "I don't want you to get hurt on my account."

Ethan sighed and then crossed his arms as well. "I said I'd protect you, and I can't do that unless I stay with you."

"What about your dad? Wouldn't he miss you?"

"Maybe, but I'm practically an adult now and he can't stop me." He sighed. "The first thing we need to do is eat."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The pasta was tasty; Ethan was surprisingly a good chef. His dad was funny, and Vickie felt at home in his kitchen, laughing and telling jokes. But she knew this would probably be the last time she could do this; after dinner they went in and watched TV but it was interrupted when the doorbell rang. Fear bubbled up in Vickie's throat and she gripped the couch arm as tight as she could. Ethan's dad, Jeff, got up and answered the door; Vickie waited for the shots but they didn't come.

"Miss Hammond." Her eyes flew open and she stared at Scott and Warren, who were smiling grimly at her.

"What the? Why are you here?" She stood up with Ethan and they stared at the pair.

"Let's get straight to the point," Scott said. "We know you were attacked this afternoon and we're here to offer protection. If you come with us you won't be harmed."

"Yes, but _why_ was she attacked?"

Warren gave Scoot a look and then sighed. "Because she's a Mutant."

There was stunned silence all around.

"What did you say?" Jeff said, staring at the men with wide eyes. "Victoria is a Mutant?"

"Yes," Scott said irately. "Her Mutation awoke a few weeks ago, and she's been disrupting our leader's mental pattern since then. The men who are after her want to harm her because she is what she is and they'll experiment on her, and probably try and take her Mutant genes."

"I know this is a shock for you, Miss Hammond," Warren said and Vickie looked at him. "But time is against us. Those men probably identified your friend's car rego and they'll come and kill anyone who isn't a Mutant."

"Then we're all fine." Everyone looked at Ethan, baffled except for his father. "Everyone in this house is a Mutant, even Dad."

"You're a Mutant?" Scott asked. "What can you do?"

Ethan smirked and lifted his hand; a burst of flame erupted from his palm and then slowly engulfed his arm. It stopped and he lowered his arm. "I'm like that guy from Fantastic Four, the flame guy except I can't fly."

"Well," Scott said, looking to Jeff, "what can you do?"

"I have good senses," he replied. "Like I can hear an SUV driving slowly towards this house and the men inside are loading their guns. There's also a small car full of men parked around the corner in case we try and escape, and they all have guns."

"Then how do we get out of here?" Vickie asked frantically. "I don't want to be a guinea pig."

"And you won't be." She looked at Scott, who was staring at her from what she could tell. "We'll get you out of here, all of you but we'd better hurry about it." He and Warren strode into the room and turned off the lights; Scott peered out the closed curtain and then pulled back. "The SUV is here, so we need to go out the back. Now, our car is located in the side street a few metres down this one, so we can all go separate ways to it. But I want someone with Miss Hammond who is experienced so I'll go. Sir, you and your son can go with Warren."

"Okay," Ethan said. "But how do we get out of here? Do we just run out like crazies and hope to not get shot?" He shook his head. "And I'm not leaving Vickie." Vickie felt herself blush and she lowered her head to hide the fact. She listened as Scott argued with Ethan and then they stopped.

Jeff had spoken up. "They're out the front ready to mobilise."

"All right, then we'll go out the back and through backyards till we're three houses away. Then, I want everyone to run as fast as they can to the car and get in."

"What if someone gets shot?" Vickie asked, and everyone looked at her.

"No one will get shot," Ethan said and smiled reassuringly at her; she smiled weakly back and then sighed, trying to calm her nerves. Scott took her wrist and towed her to the back door; the others followed him and soon they were ready to move out.

"On the count of three," Scott whispered and began counting. He then put his hand on his sunglasses and took them off; a red beam exploded from his eyes and the door flew off its hinges, hitting a man in black it the head. Scott yanked Vickie out the door and then they were running towards the fence. Warren, who had sprouted white wings, grabbed Ethan and Jeff's shirts and lifted them off the ground and over the fence. Scott picked Vickie up and threw her over the fence, then swiftly followed. This happened for two more fences and then the two teams split up; Scott, Ethan and Vickie snuck out to the front of the house and crouched in the shadows, watching the men in black as they prowled outside Ethan's house.

"All right," Scoot said. "On the count of three, everyone make a break for the car, okay?" He looked at Vickie, who was pale with fear. "Victoria," he said, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine if you don't clam up." He peered around the bush they were hiding in and then nodded. "One," Vickie's insides leapt about, "two," her heart was ready to burst, "three!" And her legs wouldn't move. Ethan and Scott took off, and Vickie watched as they sped towards the side street two hundred metres away. They didn't realise she wasn't there and then Vickie screamed as she heard someone behind her yelling. She leapt out of the shadows, and screamed again as another man tired to grab her.

She bolted.

She ran faster than she could have thought possible, and suddenly the air around her seemed to burst into white light. She heard gunfire and then pain shot up through her leg. Desperation kept her moving and soon she rounded the corner; the car was a few metres away and she forced herself to it. Scott, who had noticed just as they rounded the corner that she wasn't there, grabbed her shoulders and pushed her in the car. Warren was there but Jeff wasn't; on closer inspection she noticed that Warren was covered in blood, and she stifled a gasp. He was driving and as soon as everyone was buckled up the car shot out of the side street they were in and slammed straight into a man holding a gun.

Vickie and Ethan clutched their seatbelts as the car swerved and weaved through the men; some managed to fire on the vehicle but the car was soon speeding down the darkening road and out of the city. Vickie sighed and shifted her position; she gasped in pain and looked down at her leg. It was bleeding and she pulled it up to her chest to examine it; she felt queasy staring at her blood running down her keg onto the seat, and the sensation felt familiar, though she didn't know what from. Ethan swore explosively as he glanced at her and scooted to her side, ripping off part of his shirt and holding it against the wound.

"Jesus, why didn't you say you were shot, you moron!" He scowled and peered at the wound. "Tsk! It went right through your leg."

"Is she all right?" Scott asked, turning around in his seat and regarding Vickie with a concerned look.

"She'll be fine," Ethan said.

"Wh-where's Jeff?" Vickie said in barely a whisper.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car then, until Scott sighed and looked away out the front window. Ethan stiffened but he tied a knot in the makeshift bandage.

"He was shot," Warren said quietly. "We were running to the car when a sniper got him."

"A sniper?" Vickie echoed. "Why the hell would they have a sniper? Why'd they kill Jeff! And they the fuck are they after _me_? So what if I'm a Mutant? Aren't there a lot of others they could chase around and shoot at?" She sucked in a sobbing breath. "And why'd they kill my mom?"

"Victoria, I know this is a shock to you." She glared at Scott. "But please be calm; I don't _know_ any of the answers to the question you just asked, except the first two. They killed Jeff because he was a Mutant aiding in your escape, and they were ordered to do just that."

"You said no one would get shot," Vickie accused, sobbing. "You said we'd all get out fine but now Jeff is dead! He's…"

"Shit!" The car swerved violently to the left, sending Ethan into Vickie's lap; he swore and hastily buckled up in his seat. "Sorry! There was a deer and I didn't see it."

"Jesus, Warren," Scott chided. "Be more careful or I'll ban you from driving."

Silence blanketed them and soon they were speeding down an empty road, leading to Vickie and Ethan's new home; her insides felt like they were on fire, and the skin on her back prickled painfully. It was still annoying her when the car pulled into a large driveway, and sped down it towards a humongous mansion. Although Vickie didn't seem to notice too much, due to her splitting headache and her back feeling as if it was ripping itself to pieces. She slid out of the car and looked down at her leg; the bandage was still there but she no longer felt any pain. Swiftly, she bent and took off the bandage, and gasped: the wound was gone.

"What is it?" Scott asked, coming round to her side of the car. "Is it hurting?"

"No, it's…gone." She lifted the leg of her pants and showed him her smooth skin and he frowned.

"Huh," he said and then shrugged. "I guess you can heal as well; there are other Mutants, like Logan, who heal faster than normal, so I guess that's your Mutation."

"Well, why would they want a healer?" Warren asked. "And if they did, why her? I don't think her Mutation was awoken properly yet."

"I agree. We'll let Hank find out what her Mutation is; Victoria, please come this way."


	2. Dues

The medical lab looked new and expensive; Vickie didn't even want to sit on the table in fear she might blemish the surface with her grimy jeans. But Dr. Hank, who turned out to be a blue furry little man said that many a person had blemished it with more than dirty clothing. She had to have help getting onto the bench, and her pride had taken a nosedive; Dr. Hank made her laugh as he extracted her blood, telling her jokes he had heard (some were of the questionable type). When the blood was taken, her blood pressure was checked, and her heart rate. He said she was perfectly healthy, and then he asked her to strip to her underwear.

"Uh…why?" she asked, blushing a little. She didn't like people seeing her body, because she thought it looked weird. She had no chest, profound muscles on both her arms and legs.

"Vickie," Hank said, smiling at her, "I've seen worse, I can assure you. I won't tell anyone, I swear."

Vickie hung her head and leapt off the table, taking off her pants and shirt; she kept her head down as Dr. Hank examined her, and then he stopped, frowning slightly as he saw the round scar a few inches up and to the right her hip; gingerly, he brushed it with his furry blue hand and Vickie glanced down at it.

"My dear, what is this?"

"That?" Vickie asked, fingering it herself. "I don't know; I've had it since I can remember. Do you know what it is?"

"Well," Dr. Hank said, scratching his head in thought, "if I had to take a stab, I'd say it had once been a bullet wound, though I don't see why a girl like yourself would be the target of a shoot out."

"Why did I get a scar?" Vickie asked. "I didn't get a scar when I got shot in my leg."

"I assume you were shot before your genes began mutating so you didn't have the ability to heal. You're like Logan in that sense although that might not be all of your mutation. Has any part of your body felt different in the last few weeks?"

"Um…my organs have been heating up suddenly, and my back is really starting to itch."

"Let's have a look." Vickie turned around and tried not to flinch as his hairy hands brushed against her shoulder blades, and she wished she wasn't such a girly-girl, blushing all the time. "Hmm," Dr. Hank said, and then pressed hard against her skin. "It seems something is growing from your shoulder blades, most likely wings but it could be something entirely different. Is there anything else that has happened?" She thought back to when she had been escaping a few hours ago, and the strange glow that had emanated from her. She told him about it and he nodded.

"It sounds like your skin could radiate a light that protects you, like a force field of light, but I may be wrong. We'll now when you fully mutate."

"Uh…" Vickie looked down at her feet. "Will it…will it hurt? The mutating, that is."

Dr. hank sighed, and handed her some clean clothing. "I won't lie to you, my dear. There have been some cases where the person has experienced pure agony when mutating, and some have even become comatose because of it." Fear racked her insides, and she began to sweat. "But that rarely happens, and I'm sure you have no cause for worrying." He smiled at her, and she felt relieved, smiling back at him. "Tell me…have you been having any disturbing dreams lately?"

"…Yes, as a matter of fact. They differ, but it's always the same little girl."

"Yes?"

"Well, the one I had last night was one where she got shot, and the one before that was when she was kidnapped by some men in lab coats. All of them frighten me, and I always throw up afterwards. My mom, she was worried because neither of us knew what the heck was going on. And now…now she'll never know."

"I'm sorry about her death," Dr. hank said (Scott had filled him in), petting her arm. "It must have been a shock to you but the only thing you can do is move ahead in life. You can cry for her whenever you like, and cry for any reason you like, no matter what time of day, but still, the only thing in life that you can do to be happy is move ahead."

Vickie smiled at him and then sighed. "You're right," she said. "Wishing she was alive isn't going to do me any good, and seeking revenge won't help because more likely than not I'll get killed or kidnapped and experimented on. So, thank you…for the advice."

"You are most welcome, my dear." He chuckled and took her hand. "Shall I show you around?"

"That would be nice, thank you." She smiled at him and slipped her arm through his, and he guided her out into the blue corridor. There were several round rooms on this corridor, and Dr. hank explained them all. There was a Danger Room, where training was held for the more experienced Mutants; a landing deck for the jet; a med lab; and Cerebro. She asked him what that was.

"It's a machine that Charles and his friend Eric built so Charles could project his Telepathy and find Mutants all over the world."

He then led her up to the higher levels of the mansion, as he said it was, and he showed her where everything was. Everyone, according to the good doctor, was asleep in their private rooms; Vickie was impressed at the sheer monstrosity of the mansion, and Dr. Hank laughed at her, kindly though. He led her up to the first floor and then smiled, leading her into a small room. There was a comfy looking bed in the centre, and a wardrobe, empty of course; beside it was a desk complete with an expensive looking computer sitting atop of it.

"Is this my room?" Vickie asked, looking at him as he beamed at her.

"Yes," he said. "Now, do you remember where everything is?" Vickie nodded. "Someone will come around and wake you up in the morning around eight. Then, you'll go down to breakfast with the others and I presume the Professor will want to see you. Now, who of the X-Team have you met?"

"The X-Team?" Vickie repeated, frowning.

"Um, have you met Jean Grey? Ororo Munroe? Scott Summers?"

"Yes! I met him and…uh…Warren Worthington."

"Ah, they're a nice couple of men, aren't they?"

"Yes," Vickie said and then giggled. When Dr. Hank questioned her, she related to him the circumstances of their first meeting outside her school less than twenty-four hours ago. They both laughed and Vickie shook her head at the thought.

"Do you _have_ to be so Goddamn loud?" Vickie jumped and spun around to see a short hairy man leaning in the doorway. He was wearing a white singlet and flared jeans, and he had the most ridiculous hairstyle she had ever seen; it looked like a pair of ears sticking up, and she barely managed to restrain her laugh.

"Ah," Dr. hank said, grinning at the man. "Vickie, this is Logan or Wolverine. He has the same Mutation as you."

"She can heal?" Logan asked, standing straight and staring at her with wary eyes; she felt nervous under his gaze and looked at the floor. She heard him walking towards her and then she gasped as he touched her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smirked. "Finally," he said. "Someone's shorter than me."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie was half out of her bed when there was a knock on the door; she opened the door and saw a tall white haired woman smiling at her. After her brief and bizarre meeting with Logan, she was a little suspicious of the other 'X-Team' members.

"Hi," the lady said, smiling kindly. "I'm Ororo Munroe, but you can just call me Storm. Are you Victoria Hammond?"

"Yes," Vickie said warily. Storm noticed and frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, baffled.

"…Are you going to make a crack at my height?" asked Vickie suspiciously.

Storm laughed and shook her head. "I presume you met Logan last night?" Vickie nodded. "Yes well, he's a little touchy about his height, and he tends to shift the insults onto other shorter people. You'll get used to it later; just don't let him get a rise out of you."

"Oh, so he's like the egotistical little bastards who attend high school then? Ha! I should have guessed as much; there's always one."

Storm laughed again. "Are you ready for breakfast?" she asked, and Vickie let her lead the way down to the large mess hall were several other Mutants were already eating breakfast. She saw Logan and he glanced at her, smiling wickedly. He stood up just as she and Storm reached the table, and pulled Vickie down into the seat beside him.

"You get to sit next to me, Squirt," he said, and Vickie knew she should do what he said. "So, how tall are you?"

Vickie sighed. "Five one. What are you? Five two?"

The other people at the table laughed and Logan growled angrily; they shut up but Vickie knew that Logan was unsettled now.

"You think that's funny, don't you?" he snarled.

"Clearly you do too. I have height issues as well, so don't preach to me about how I shouldn't bad mouth short people; I am one, obviously."

Logan stared at her and then smirked, clapping her on the back. "I like you, kid. I think I'll let you live."

"Thanks," Vickie said, smiling at him. "What's for breakfast? I'm starved."

"There's bacon, eggs, sausages, pancakes, waffles and practically any cereal. What would you like?"

"I think I'll have cereal," Vickie said and stood up. She wandered over to the 'buffet' and picked up a white bowl, turning it around in her hands as she studied what cereals she could pick from. There was Frootloops, Special K, Weetbix, Rice Bubbles, Coco Pops, and some muesli; she chose that and poured low fat milk all over it, then grabbed a fork and returned to the seat beside Logan. He looked at her muesli and pulled a face.

"You don't like muesli?" Vickie asked, shovelling a spoonful in her mouth. "It's good for you, helps you keep fit."

"It looks horrible," Logan spat, digging around in his scrambled eggs; they were covered in pepper, and Vickie could smell it from where she sat. "You don't know what crud is in that."

"It tastes good though," Vickie said, and waved a spoonful under his nose; he pulled another face and tried to lean away but the spoon followed him. Finally, he bit down on the spoon, which was quite unexpected to Vickie, and it came out empty. Slowly, he chewed the muesli, and then swallowed it. Vickie stared at her empty spoon and then at Logan, who was contemplating how the food tasted.

"It tastes like cardboard," he said at last, and then returned to his eggs.

"You…" Vickie said, staring at him. "You just…ate off my spoon…why?"

"Cause you were waving it at me, and it seemed to the only way to get rid of the stuff. Don't get so uptight about it, kid. It's bound to happen more than once."

"Really?" Vickie asked, and then shrugged, lifting out a mouthful and eating it. "Does it work vice versa?"

"Nope, sorry. My meal stays with me."

"I see," Vickie said, and then quick as a flash snatched some of his bacon. She shoved it in her mouth before he could stop her and then grinned at him; he growled and then grabbed her cereal, grabbing her spoon and eating half her muesli in half a second. She stole another rasher of bacon but he caught her wrist before she could eat it; quickly she switched hands and ate it.

"All right, you two," said Scott who had just entered the room. "No need to fight so early in the morning." He grabbed a tray of porridge and sat down beside Vickie; Warren and Ethan, who she had forgotten was there with her, soon joined them and they began chatting. After a few more minutes, Storm and a red head came to sit with them; the red head was introduced as Jean Grey, and Vickie took an immediate disliking to her, though she didn't know why.

"So, are you two dating?" Vickie spat out her orange juice all over Jean, who wasn't amused. She looked at Ethan, who had gone bright red and was avoiding eye contact. Warren, who had asked the question, laughed and drank deeply from his coffee.

"What makes you think we're dating?" Vickie choked, and gave an apologising look to Jean.

"Well, you were at his house wearing his clothes and he didn't want to leave your side when we had to run. And…we kind of heard what your friend, Isabelle…"

"Oh, shit!" Vickie shrieked, shooting up from her chair. "Isabelle!" She raced out of the mess hall and then remembered that Ethan had killed her phone, but she had to call Isabelle and tell her what had happened. She was about to run to the main entrance when someone shouted her name; she spun around and saw Jean advancing on her, her green blouse stained with orange juice.

"What's your rush?" she asked irately.

"I have to call my friend, Isabelle, and tell her what happened. She'll be worried."

"You can't."

"Why not?" Vickie asked incredulously. "She's going to be frantic that I haven't called her or messaged her, and she'll…"

"It's her problem, not yours, Victoria. Now go back to the mess hall and finish your breakfast."

"No, I want to call Isabelle!"

Vickie screamed as a large mass of wall hurtled towards her and she sped off for the mess hall, slamming through the door and knocking Logan to the ground. She tripped on his feet and sprawled onto his chest, where they both moaned in pain. Jean breezed back into the mess hall, looked down at the bundle of limbs, threw her head back and laughed and then left again.

"Unbalanced little freak," Vickie moaned as she pushed off of Logan's chest. "You all right?"

"Yeah," he said, and then stared at her. "What was your hurry?"

"Uh…there was this really big…bug. And it freaked me out." She lied; who cares? Jean might do something to her if she dobbed her in.

"Girls," Logan sighed and stood up then grabbed the back of Vickie's shirt and hauled her to her feet. "You're going to be a constant form of pain for me, aren't you?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie had settled, and made new friends, most were older than her though. She had gotten in contact with Isabelle and told her not to panic and not to try and find her. Isabelle had shocked her with the news that Robert had asked her out, and Vickie was thrilled for her friend. There was a schedule at the mansion, which peeved Vickie because it was hard to remember. On Mondays, it was English, Science, History, Mutant Appreciation Class (the name was weird to her) and then a short PE lesson. Tuesdays was the same except English and History were swapped around. On Wednesdays it was Maths, English, PE, Mutant Appreciation Class and then a free line. There were no classes on Thursdays, which didn't really upset her.

Fridays were the worst, because all morning was Mutant Appreciation Class and then after lunch was an hour of Danger Room. Her birthday came and went, without anyone knowing, though she did receive an anonymous gift, which turned out to be a necklace. It was a plain gold thing, with an emerald gem in the centre, and she thought it was beautiful. Ethan didn't hang out with her; he seemed to have forgotten she was alive, but she didn't mind. She liked to stay with Dr. Hank whenever she could, or with Logan and his twelve-year-old adopted son Danny, who absolutely adored her. She was playing outside with Danny while Logan, Scott, Warren, Dr. Hank and Storm watched her, and she was having a great time.

"Throw it to me!" Danny yelled, and Vickie threw the football at him. He caught it with an 'oof!' and then threw it back, laughing. Vickie leapt up to grab it, and fell to the ground screaming as her back tore apart. Danny was the first to reach and he watched in horror as she writhed on the grass, blood spilling out everywhere. Dr. Hank thudded to the ground beside him and tore off Vickie's shirt, exposing two long slits on her back; he gently touched one and Vickie screamed in agony, rolling away from him. Warren and Logan were the next to arrive, and they crowded around her, yelling at her to explain what was happening.

"She's mutating," Dr. Hank said and took hold of her wrist.

"NO!" she screamed twisting away and rolling onto her hands and knees. Her skin began glowing and the slits on her back kept getting wider. She roared in pain, and the adults and Danny listened as it echoed around the campus. Vickie was panting, trying to see through the sweat in her eyes, and trying to feel anything other than the excruciating pain in her entire body; every time someone tried to touch her, it burned and she was sent into another pain induced seizure. Finally, after ten agonising minutes, she collapsed in a faint, pain still coursing through her veins.

When she woke up, she was lying face down on the medical lab table, top half naked but covered in a white sheet. She tried to move but it sent pain shooting throughout her system, and she moaned in pain.

"She's awake!" came a thrilled cry from none other than Danny. "Vickie, how are you feeling?"

"…Perfect," she grunted, and turned her head to the side, looking at him. She could see Logan and Dr. Hank there as well, and smiled weakly at them. "What happened to me?" she asked.

"You're growing wings," Dr. Hank said bluntly, and Vickie blinked at him. "They started growing a few weeks ago, by my calculations, and only just came through now. They'll be growing for another few weeks, and I'm afraid you'll be in pain constantly."

Vickie stared at him. "A few _weeks_?" she cried, and winced. "But…but…that's _ages_! I'll go out of my mind with nothing to do."

"Which is why you'll be asleep all that time. Charles has agreed to make you sleep for that time, because he knows how much pain you'll be in. After you go to sleep, you'll just wake up and think that you've been asleep for a few hours."

Vickie stared at him, and then sighed. "Will I be able to feel the pain while I'm asleep?" she asked into her pillow.

"No." She looked the other way and saw the Professor wheeling his way towards her. "You will basically be in a coma until your wings are fully formed, and then I'll wake you up." He smiled kindly at her. "Just think of it as an extremely long sleep." He placed his hands on either side of her head and closed his eyes; Vickie's eyes closed as well, and when the Professor took his hands away, she was asleep again.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_The little girl was four, and she was playing with her sister, Elizabeth, beside the lake. She could see their lake house from the rock she was playing on, and both her parents were on the balcony waving at her. She waved back, feeling exuberant, and watched as her sister leapt off her rock and splashed into the water. A few seconds later, the girl had joined her and they were splashing each other playfully. _

_After they went home and had a hot bath, their parents sat them down and announced that they were going to have another child, a boy. The sisters were ecstatic with the news and bounded all over the house, laughing and singing and dancing together. It was a warm and happy family, and the girl knew that this was where she belonged._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The girl was sitting by her mother's bed, watching as she fed her little brother, Jason. He was beautiful, with chubby little legs and cheeks and tiny feet and hands. He was a month old and was quiet, which was good. The girl stared at him, smiling faintly and then her mother looked at her. 

"_Would you like to hold him?" she asked, her voice light and feathery. _

"_Can I?" the girl asked and gently took her brother in her arms. He was heavy for someone so small, and she stared at him as he softly breathed in and out. Ever so slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at her; a smile crept onto his lips and she giggled, giving him back._

"_He smiled at me," she whispered and then sat with her mother._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The girl was playing with her father in the local park, during autumn and they were throwing each other a tennis ball. The ground was littered by auburn and brown leaves, and they crunched underneath feet; there was a light breeze, ruffling the girl's red hair and the father's blond; this was what they loved doing with each other, mucking around in parks and generally just being with each other. He threw the ball harder than usual, and it flew over the girl's head; she chased after it, laughing merrily and breathing heavily as she did. She turned around and saw her father running towards her, ready to swing her up in his arms. "Daddy!" she cried jubilantly and leapt into his arms; he swung her around in his arms and she laughed with him, wishing that that moment would never end. 

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_It was a few months after the shooting, and the girl was lying on her bed at the orphanage. She had just been beaten up by a group of bullies, and her eye was swollen. She was curled up in the foetal position, crying silently._

"_Daddy," she sobbed, clutching the photograph of her family. It was a treasure, and she wouldn't let anyone take it from her._

"_Daddy, where are you?" She curled up tighter, wishing that the world would just go away. "Daddy, why aren't you here protecting me? You said you always would be…Daddy…"_

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"_Sweetie, this is Kathy Hammond. She's going to adopt you."_

_The girl looked up at the tall woman with chocolate brown hair tied neatly in a bun; she had a kind smile, and kind eyes that stared at her full of sympathy. She didn't look anything like her mother, and the girl backed away. She didn't want anyone but her mother to love her, and this woman was just going to take her away and force her to love her?_

"_Honey, I know you don't want to be taken away." Kathy kneeled down so that she was the girl's height. "I know you don't want anyone but your mother to love you but you can't grow up like this. I won't force you to love me, or anything like that. I just want to help."_

_A sob broke from the girl's throat and she rushed into the woman's arms. "They said they'd protect me," she wailed. "They said they'd always be there for me and they're not! They left me!"_

"_I'm sure they didn't want to leave you," Kathy whispered. "I'm sure they're watching over you right now, smiling and telling themselves that they raised such a beautiful daughter."_

"_I want them back," the girl whispered. "I'd do anything."_

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_The girl was nine, and she was standing outside a large white building with a sign that read 'Mutant Hospital'. She walked into the building and snuck passed the security guards towards the offices. She had found out who killed her parents and rage had filled her entirely; she couldn't think about anything except revenge and soon she was standing in front of the man. A long trench coat hung from a stand, and the man looked at her with unfamiliarity._

"_Do I know you?" he asked as the girl reached into her jacket pocket and drew out a kitchen knife she had stolen. Before he could act, she leapt up onto the table and drove the knife into his heart, twisting it around. Blood gurgled up through his mouth and he slumped back into his chair; the girl, hands blood soaked and panting, got off the desk and grabbed the knife. She then high tailed out of the building before the alarms went off._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_The girl had rushed to her father's grave and sank to her knees in mud. She cried, gripping the bloody knife and the headstone as tight as she could. _

"_Daddy," she sobbed. "I killed someone. I'm sorry…I failed you. You always said murderers were lower than the low, and I just became one. I know that you'd hate me if you were still alive, and I'm…I'm sorry! I couldn't stop it! I want you back so much, Daddy!" She sobbed and dropped the knife in the puddle she was kneeling in. "Daddy," she sobbed._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_The girl had gone home after that, and she cried all night, wishing she was dead and had never committed the crime. In the morning, Kathy had sat her down for a talk about what was happening to her, and the girl had lied, saying that she desperately missed her family. Kathy believed her and said that she started school the day after. The girl wasn't impressed but she went anyway and met her first friend._

"_Hi!" a girl called, running up and hugging the girl. "I'm Isabelle Cornwall, who're you?"_

"…_Victoria Hammond," the girl mumbled. _

"_Hi, Vickie!"_

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dr. Hank jumped as Vickie sniffed and lifted her head from the pillow to wipe it. He rushed to her side and handed her a tissue, which she gratefully took. Her back felt heavier than the last time she remembered, and craned her neck to see two pure white wings sticking out; she choked on her swear word and then sighed, shaking her head. The dreams she had were still vivid, and she realised that they were hers, before the age of ten. She must have repressed them, because she never remembered doing anything like that…she killed a man.

"My dear," Dr. Hank said, smiling at her. "You woke up sooner than expected. How was your nap?"

"Memorable," Vickie replied and closed her eyes. "I…remembered my past," she admitted. "And it wasn't pretty."

"Well, it can't be that bad. Now, your legs won't be able to support the new weight on you back, so you'll have to learn how to walk with the wings. It won't be hard." Vickie sat up and swung her weak legs over the side of the table, but she didn't stand. She knew her legs were weak, and the added weight would send her to the ground.

"It won't take that long," she said. "I watched my little brother start to walk, and it didn't take him long."

"Well, that's great." He turned away and went rummaging through a desk drawer; finally, he pulled out a shirt and handed it to her. "You might want to cover yourself; the Professor will want to see you."

Blushing, Vickie pulled on the shirt and gently touched the soft wings attached to her shoulder blades. They felt like silk, and she stroked them lovingly, like she would a dog. She tried to move them but they felt incredibly heavy and sluggish.

"I see someone's up and about." Vickie turned around and saw Logan leaning against the open door, grinning at her with a cigar in his mouth. Upon seeing him, she smiled and a shiver went through her feathers. "I like what you've done," the man continued walking into the room, his arms crossed. He stopped a few feet in front of her and smirked. "You've been out a while, kid. Everyone thinks you're dead."

"Did you set them straight?" Vickie asked.

"Nuh."

"You're horrible," said Vickie, smiling and then gasped as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a bear hug. He held her tight and slowly, after a few minutes, she placed her hands on his chest, blushing deeply.

"You looked dead, kid," he said into her hair. "You didn't move once, and Furball there had to move you so you didn't get bedsores." He sighed, and began stroking her wings. "They look good on you."

"Thank you," Vickie mumbled.

"By the way," Logan said, pulling away from her. She looked at him apprehensively and then he smirked. "You stink." He walked away laughing as Vickie just stared at his retreating back, her mouth agape. Dr. Hank wandered over to her and smirked, placing his furry hands on her knees.

"You do," he said, and Vickie hung her head. "Would you like to have a shower before or after your injection?"

"Why do I need another one? I was only asleep, for crying out loud."

"Yes, but this will stop you from healing over your wings. That's the burden of being a Healer: it doesn't like new things. Saying that, if in the future you should like to have kids, it might be difficult; of course, you'd probably conceive but after a few weeks, it might try and 'correct' you body."

"Yeah, um," Vickie said, blushing, "I don't think I'll have kids. I don't think I'm parental material."

"All teenagers think that, sweetie," Dr. Hank said kindly, pulling out a needle containing red liquid. Vickie looked away as she lifted her arm and he stuck it in; she only looked back when she heard him humming merrily. "It's natural, but I'm sure you'd be good. You don't get angry that often, and you don't seem to be violent."

_I killed a man._ The thought struck her like someone had slapped her, and she shifted uncomfortably on the table. She had killed someone, when she was _nine_! Suddenly, she felt sick and threw up all over the floor. Dr. Hank jumped a little, and gave her a wary look but then went and fetched utensils to clean the puke up.

"I didn't think you'd throw up from the injection," he said. "I guess it's not for everyone."

"It's not that," Vickie said hastily. "Uh…during my time out, I had dreams about my past, and one of them was horrific. That's what made me…puke. Sorry about the clean floor."

"Oh, there's been worse things on it than vomit, trust me." He smiled at her and she smiled back; she sighed and then felt his comforting arms around her. "Change is hard," he said and Vickie wrapped her small arms around his barrel chest. "I should know; when I started mutating, I turned blue and hairy. At least you look normal…ish." Vickie laughed as he pulled away.

"But aren't you in the Government? For Mutants? Surely people accept you because they're familiar with you?"

"I may be in Government, Vickie, but that doesn't mean they accept me. Humans won't accept anything different from themselves, because they're afraid of what it might do. It's like everyone: they are afraid of what they don't understand."

Vickie nodded.

"Well, no point sitting around here being all glum; we need to get you on your feet again." He clapped his hands together and then held them out for her to take.

"I'm going to collapse," Vickie said, leaning away from him.

"You'll never know if you don't try," was the retort, and she nervously took his hands.


	3. Trois

After the embarrassing fall in the medical lab, Vickie was reluctant to try and walk. On several occasions Dr. Hank had tried to persuade her to try but she said she didn't want to, that she was still weak. He gave up after the first week, and Danny had taken his spot. He whined that he missed throwing the ball and running with her but she just waved him away. After three weeks, everyone seemed to give up trying to get her to walk. It was morning, and Vickie was lying on her bed, reading a book, when suddenly her door flew open and Logan came barging in.

"Logan?" she asked, puzzled.

"Today you're going to walk," he said before slinging her over his shoulder and marching out. "You've become lazy, kid, and I want you up and about so you can start your flying lessons."

"Flying lessons?" Vickie repeated. "No, I don't want to!" She elbowed him in the back, the shoulder, his head, anywhere she could get but he was unyielding. He carried her down to the work out room was, where Dr. Hank, Warren and Scott were waiting, smiling smugly. "Traitors," she muttered as Logan dumped her unceremoniously on the blue mats the men were standing on.

"You've been slacking off for too long, Victoria," Scott said, smiling wickedly down at her. "You're not leaving this room until you've walked. There's a beam for you to hold onto while you regain your strength. Go to it."

"I don't feel like it," Vickie said, crossing her arms and legs. Her wings flicked angrily; they seemed to twitch differently when her moods changed and it felt weird having two large and heavy additions twitching and fluttering every few seconds.

"You need to," Warren said firmly.

"What's my motivation?" Vickie snapped, looking down at the blue mat.

"How about not getting a thrashing?" Logan snarled, marching towards her. She cringed as he grabbed the back of her jacket and dragged her to the beam. She refused to move and he was about to strangle her when Dr. Hank cut in.

"All right Vickie," he said. "Have it your way. Let's go, you boys. She can stay in here till she walks." They proceeded to leave, and Vickie swore at them for dragging her down here. She sighed as the door shut and leaned against the beam's leg; she knew she wasn't going to get out of the room until she at least attempted to walk, but she didn't feel like it. She'd felt wretched after learning what she had done and just wanted to wallow. It had been successful until Logan dragged her down to the workroom, and she knew she didn't even deserve to be able to walk. So she sat in the room for three hours, staring blankly at the dull wall in front of her, going over and over the memory.

"I see you've made no progress." Vickie jumped at the suddenness of the voice and looked to the doors; Scott was staring at her, a mix of concern and irritation on his face and he walked over to her. He sat in front of her, and she went back to staring at the wall. "Why don't you want to at least try?" he asked.

Vickie looked at him and sighed. "Because," she said. "I found something out about myself while I was out, and it makes me…disgusted with myself."

"What did you do?" Scott asked, scooting around so he could sit next to her.

"You don't want to know."

"Yes, I do…otherwise I wouldn't have asked. Come on, tell me." He nudged her arm and she looked at him, smirking. "Tell me," he said, nudging her again. He kept nudging her until she pushed him and nodded.

But as she opened her mouth to tell him, her mind began panicking. _If you tell him, he'll rat you out to the police and you'll have to leave. Those men will probably find you and take you to the hospital, or kill you for killing their boss. Just tell him a lie…a _good_ one._

"I used to moon the teachers at my school." _Dear God, don't let me blush! That was so stupid; like he's gonna believe that load of tripe!_

Scott didn't say anything and then he stared at her, annoyance clearly written on his face. Vickie smiled at him, her blush successfully hidden by her long hair falling over her shoulder. She sighed and decided the only way he was going to leave her alone was if she tried; so she grabbed his shoulders and pushed herself up. She switched to holding the beam as Scott got to his feet.

"What are you doing?" he asked as her knees wobbled; he caught her before she fell.

"I'm trying to walk," she muttered. "What does it look like?" She smirked, although he could see the pain in her eyes. "I don't want to wither away to nothing in this dismal room, do I? Can you help me back to the beam?" Scott nodded silently and helped her; she gripped the beam again, and slowly moved her right foot forward. Her left one soon followed, and then she was a third of the way along the beam, Scott close beside her in case she fell. He could see her legs wobbling under the weight, but she didn't give up till the end of the beam. She swooned from dizziness and he caught her in his arms, smiling and congratulating her.

"Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" he asked.

"Shut up," Vickie snapped as she smiled, using his arms to pull herself up.

"Don't tell your teacher to shut up," Scott chided but smiled down at her. She barely reached his chest, and she rested her chin against it, trying to catch her breath.

"Okay then," she said. "Have you ever killed someone?"

"I've killed people," Scott said nonchalantly. "And you will too, when you're older. Fourteen year olds shouldn't kill."

"Actually, I'm fifteen. I turned a few weeks ago."

"Well, happy birthday. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"It's just a birthday," Vickie said, grinning. She hid her face in his chest, and took a deep breath through her nose. Suddenly, with a startled cry, she pushed away from him, her legs failing her as she tumbled backwards.

"What is it?" Scott asked, kneeling in front of her.

"N-nothing," Vickie lied. "I just…nothing." She reached up and took the beam, hauling herself to her feet. She then hobbled away from a baffled Scott but stopped when she reached the end of it; cautiously, she let go of the beam and took a step. Her leg collapsed and she fell to the ground. She decided crawling was better, as she had to get away before she blurted anything stupid out. Unfortunately, Scott blocked her way and then helped to her feet.

"What?" he asked and she knew she had to tell him. But she couldn't; it was painful, and she didn't want to confide in him, the man who was always so cynical.

"I…" She needed another lie, and fast. "I…"

"My bad for interrupting such a moment." Vickie sighed with relief as she saw Ethan standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. "What are you two doing?" he asked.

"I can't walk," Vickie explained. "He's helping me stand. Um…I'd like to go now." Scott didn't let her go and Vickie looked at Ethan, pleading him to save her. He wandered over and offered to take her back to her room. Vickie readily agreed but Scott didn't seem too pleased. But eventually he gave in and Ethan swung Vickie up into his arms, her wings draping over his arm; he carried her up to her room and set her down on her bed. She thanked him as he left, and he smiled in reply. After he left, she began to panic; what if Scott tried to weasel information out of her, about her past and what had spooked her? She couldn't handle that, and vowed silently not to talk to him again.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Three days later, and after several attempts at trying to walk without the beam, Vickie was sitting in the recreation room, reading a book and zoning out of the world. She only looked up when she heard her name; Logan was frowning reproachfully at her and she smiled sheepishly.

"Are you ready for your walk?" he asked, coming to stand before her.

"I guess," she replied and took his hands. It was shaky work but she managed to hobble through the corridors, with the help of Logan's support though. When she saw the beam, she knew that today she would walk on her own. For the first few minutes she used the beam to walk. Then, when Logan was called away, she closed her eyes and let go of the beam; first her right foot than her left. After several steps, she realised she wasn't going to fall but she didn't open her eyes; she continued to step jerkily until she heard Logan yell in amazement. She opened her eyes as he swung her about and laughed, and she had to join in too.

"You did it!" he yelled as he set her down and pulled her into a bear hug. The other students in the hall were a little freaked out by the shouting and congratulating coming from Logan, although it was a pleasant alternative to his swearing.

"Okay, okay," Logan said, visibly excited. He took a few steps away from her and held out his hands. "Walk to me." Slowly, Vickie placed a wobbling foot on the floor. The door to the workout room flew open, revealing Danny, Warren, Dr. Hank and Scott; they all watched as Vickie eased her way towards Logan, her hands held out in case she fell. She began glowing as she saw the pride all over their faces, even Scott's (though it was miniscule), and her wings began twitching violently. Logan swept her up into his arms again as she fell against his chest, and the men all rushed to her side, except Scott, who left without a word.

"I knew you could do it!"

"Good work!"

"Does it hurt at all?"

"You're glowing really brightly!" Everyone stopped and noticed that, indeed, Vickie looked like a fluorescent light, smiling at them. Her wings began shuddering and they twitched as if they wanted to open.

Warren seemed happy with them doing this and draped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll start with your flying lessons next week," he said. "I have other students who can fly and you'll be learning with them." He looked at her wings and then smirked. "Although none of them have such beautiful plumage."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie stood shivering on the grass outside the mansion, wishing that she were somewhere warm. She was wearing Ethan's 'shirts' and his shirt, two singlets and a jacket to try and keep warm but so far she was failing miserably. It was freezing in the wind, with nowhere to hide from it, and it wouldn't stop! The four other winged Mutants seemed oblivious to the fact that it was below nine degrees Celsius; she hated them for being so used to cold temperatures. But what she hated more was that they were so oblivious they were wearing no shirts! Yes, all her classmates were boys, and none of them seemed to like her.

One in particular, Jonathon Bring, seemed to have an issue with her height, because he was nearly six-five and towered over her. It wasn't her fault for being short but whenever she tried to tell him that, he'd say something like, "Did someone say anything? I can't see anyone". Soon, she gave up trying to yell at him and his mates, and just concentrated on trying to warm up. She jogged on the spot, waiting for Warren to arrive, and then when that failed, she began running around.

"Hey look!" she heard Jon call. "There's a toddler loose on the ground! Let's try and catch it and send it home to its mommy!" Vickie didn't give him a side-glance as she ran around, and grit her teeth, vowing to kill him when he was asleep. Suddenly, Warren landed right in front of her and she hastily careened to the left in order to avoid him. She slowed to a walk and stood before him, staring at his shirtless body. She knew he was fit, but _damn_! Warren saw Vickie staring at his body, blushing, and laughed as he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Victoria!" he said and she looked at him, her eyes faintly glowing. He frowned slightly, and leaned forward, trying to see if they were actually glowing or not.

"Mr. Warren, that's called paedophilia!" Both Vickie and Warren glared at Jon, and then Vickie flipped him the bird. "Hey, the toddler learnt how to raise her fingers! Ain't it cute?"

"You fuc…!" Warren cried out and covered her mouth his hand, cutting off the word.

"Now, now," he scolded. "No need for smutty language. Class, I assume you've met Miss Victoria Hammond?" The boys rolled their eyes. "She'll be starting with the basics, so you'll have to keep yourselves entertained."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find a way." Jon gave Vickie an evil grin, which she glared at.

"Boys, play nice." Vickie sighed in exasperation and sat down on the ground, feeling only slightly warmer. "I'd like all of you to do five laps and then start the exercises. If there's any mess ups, you'll all die." The boys all laughed, Vickie laughed sarcastically, and watched as her classmates took off into the overcast sky.

"Okay, Vickie," Warren said, staring down at her, "stand up." Vickie, begrudgingly, stood. "Open your wings."

They opened and flapped normally, but when Warren told her to take off, her wings went limp and hung from her back, as if they were sulking. She made several attempts, and got as for as them flapping quickly and steadily but that was all. They twitched when she was annoyed, and they were twitching fast.

"Stupid wings!" she shouted. "Why won't you work?"

"Why? Eager to fly?"

"No!" Vickie almost yelled, frightening him. "I don't like heights."

"What's that?" Jon asked, landing lightly beside her. "Toddler doesn't like heights?" He grinned manically. "We'll have to change that." He scooped her into his arms and then leapt into the air. Vickie screamed, and hid her face against his chest, forgetting it was uncovered. He flew higher, and when she dared a peek, she saw that the ground was not visible and her head swam; she felt like she was going to throw up, and she would have had Jon shaken her.

"Girls don't belong in this class," he snarled, and she saw the loathing in his eyes. "They just twitter about the sky, giving everyone a hard time, and I'll teach you not to twitter." His arms loosened around her.

"Wait, I can't…!" She screamed as she slipped from his arms, and she reached up to grab him but he swerved away; she hurtled towards the ground, picking up speed and momentum. She screamed and screamed, her eyes watering due to the speed and fright, and she wished didn't have wings. The clouds suddenly cleared, and she screamed, closing her eyes with the knowledge that she would die. Suddenly, she was jerked to the side and wrapped in warm arms; she didn't open her eyes, not even when the distant voices began talking to her. The very thought of the sensation frightened her, and she passed out in warren's sturdy arms.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Misery. Embarrassment. Pain. Fear.

"Fuck off!" Vickie screamed as the door began opening, and she hurtled across the room to slam it shut. She leaned against it, and held onto the handle as the intruder tried to turn it.

"Vickie, this is stupid!" It was Logan…again. Didn't that man ever give up? "You've been in here for two days, and I _know_ you haven't eaten anything."

"I said…"

"I heard what you said!" he roared and the door burst open; Vickie glared at Logan as he stormed in, ready to strangle her. "I heard what you said," he repeated in a calmer tone, "and I am appalled that someone your age said it." He looked down at her and she glared at him, crossing her arms. "Don't give me that look," he snapped. "You can't starve yourself to death; it's not right and you're bloody thin enough as it is!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her room, ignoring her cries of protest. When she began to drag, he growled in fury and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder. If it had been another, time she would have laughed but she didn't; she started screaming, and thrashing around in his grip trying to free herself.

"Shut up!" he yelled at her but she just screamed louder. "Jesus!" Logan bellowed and dropped her on the floor. Quick as a flash, Vickie picked herself up and sprinted away, leaving Logan staring and swearing at her. Then, he began the pursue. She led him all through the mansion, as he slowly gained on her. Finally, he caught her outside the library and gently tackled her into the carpet.

"Logan, no!" she screamed, struggling in his grip. "I don't…"

"Vickie," he said softly, "I just want to help you."

She stopped wriggling and just lay with his arms around her arms and chest, squeezing her gently against him. She remembered her father comforting her like this whenever she had had a nightmare, and his arms had been so warm and comfortable. Tears began falling silently as Vickie just lay on the carpet, staring at the wool and dirt stains in it; Logan could smell her tears, and he tightened his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," Vickie said calmly. "I was just afraid that everyone would hate me for being so weak."

"It's not a crime to be weak," Logan said softly and slowly sat up with her still in his arms. "But it is when you choose to be. Sure, you can mope up there in your room and let everyone think what a silly little girl you are but you could be out showing them up, trying to conquer your fear of heights. If you try at least, no one can say you didn't." Vickie tilted her head up, staring at him with wet green eyes, and then her face broke into a dazzling smile. It was the first time she had ever smiled so truthfully, and Logan was proud of her.

"Thank you, Logan," she said. "You're right: I should try to conquer my fear."

Logan smiled down at her and then chuckled. "You're so funny," he said and then let his arms fall. "I wish you'd become a Mutant sooner, 'cause you're an endless source of entertainment."


	4. Quatre

Vickie was trying as hard as she could to fly, and she had mostly conquered her fear but there was still a nauseous moment or two before she regained composure. Logan helped her, as did Danny and Dr. Hank when he wasn't busy treating wounds and running off to do Government business. Vickie became confident in herself, and she held her head high when she walked through the corridors, smiling to the people she liked and ignoring the ones she didn't. She hadn't spoken a word to Scott since the episode in the workout room, and he hadn't tried to talk to her either, which was somewhat beneficial. After a few more weeks, and a few Danger Room sessions with Logan and four others, the professor called in the 'children' and told them that they'd soon be going on missions with the X-Team.

The mansion was a buzz of excited teenagers, although Vickie was not among them. That meant she had to get her wings to work, otherwise all she could do was glow and heal. She still attended her flying classes, and did excurses in strengthening her wings and muscles. Soon, she was as fit as she had been at her old school; thoughts of her past still haunted her, but she had taken Logan's advice and tried her hardest. She ignored the longing as much as could, but sometimes it would overwhelm her and she would breakdown. Logan was always there for her to cry on, and she was thankful.

She spent a lot of time outdoors, sitting in the grass and flexing her wings; she'd sit for hours staring dreamily out at the lake, or the forest, depending on where she was, and just let her wings open and close. When she became calm, she would start to glow, and then the light would start to blink, like a beacon sending out a signal. It was haunting, to see a fifteen year old flashing and just sitting on the grass, a small smile on her lips that no one could ever decipher; she never opened her mind to what she was thinking, and even the Professor couldn't deduce what was going on. But it didn't dampen anyone's spirits; the adults knew Vickie would eventually open up to them in her own time, so they didn't pressure her.

She joined them when they went shopping, although she always had to stay in the car because her wings would give her away; she didn't mine: someone always stayed with her, usually Logan or Danny. She was a regular in Dr. Hank's medical lab, because she liked his company, and he hers. They talked about idle things, like the other Mutants, and all the places Dr. Hank had travelled to. It was there, staring at computer screen with cells multiplying on it, when Vickie first met Joel Falcon. He looked ragged and worn out, with deep sunken eyes and dark rings around them; he seemed to sag, as if there was an invisible weight on his shoulders. He didn't seem to see Vickie as she studied him from the shadowy corner she was in; he only had eyes for Dr. Hank.

"Excuse me," he said, and Dr. hank turned around, smiling.

"Joel, how are you? How's your sister?"

"She's fine, thank you." He was curt but polite at the same time. "Listen, I was wondering if you could help me. My sister, she's been taken away by an orphanage, because they don't think I'm properly suited to care for her, and I was wondering if you could let her live here."

"Would you be living here as well?" asked Dr. Hank, turning away and fiddling with a beaker full of a purple chemical.

"Of course; I'm not going to leave her alone or she'll break."

"Well then of course I'd be happy to ask Charles if he could spare two more rooms. Please wait here while I go ask him." Dr. hank smiled and then waddled away, leaving Vickie to stare at the strange boy. He looked no older than seventeen, although she could clearly see the stubble of a few weeks on his chin and cheeks. She continued to stare at him as he glanced at the door and then shed his long and bulky coat, letting it drop to the floor; Vickie suppressed a gasp as she saw large glossy black wings emerge and he sighed as they ruffled and flapped a few times. They looked like raven wings, and she assumed that was his mutation. Suddenly, the computer behind her beeped as it completed the display and the boy's head snapped in her direction.

Both seemed too stunned to say anything, and Vickie felt like something was intruding her mind. She began to feel drowsy, wanting to curl up and go to sleep; her mind started to drift but her body wouldn't let it go too far. It began glowing and the drowsiness lifted. She glared at Joel, knowing full well he had been inside her mind.

"Who are you?" he asked before she could scold him.

"What?" Vickie asked, frowning. "Victoria, not that it matters. Haven't you ever heard of privacy? Why did you try and make me sleep?"

"…You saw my wings," he said blankly. "No one sees my wings."

"Then you should check to see if anyone else is in the room before shedding clothing," Vickie said, her temper flaring. "Besides, it's not like you're the only one who has wings."

"Step into the light," Joel ordered.

"No," Vickie snapped. "I don't have to do what you say." She suddenly felt compelled to move forward but again her body began glowing and the feeling past. But as soon as she ceased to glow, the feeling came back and she inched forward. For a few minutes her body began glowing on and off, fighting Joel's control and trying to stay put in the dark corner.

"Stop it!" she yelled at him, and he staggered back, looking slightly unnerved. "Jerk," she muttered and stormed out, her wings fluttering angrily. She thought she heard him say her name but when she looked back he was staring at the computer screen. She stalked passed Dr. Hank, who chuckled under his breath and let her pass. She found her way up to the kitchen and slammed open the door, making the person in there jump and drop the plastic plate they held. Scott stared at her as she glared at him and then she left; she found Logan lying on his bed reading the newspaper and she flopped down beside him, rejoicing in his distinct smell of cigar and sweat.

"Something on your mind?" he asked without looking up from his paper.

"Not much," she replied and closed her eyes, feeling sleepy. "I'm just…gonna take a little…nap here…if that's all right…Logan." She was asleep before he could reply and he smirked, putting down his newspaper and pulling the sheet from under him; he covered it with her, staring down at the girl who always had him so calm and easy to deal with. He leaned against the headboard, staring at her pensively.

"Jesus," he muttered, running his hand over his face. He sighed, and stroked her face, brushing away her stray hairs. "You'd be a good daughter," he murmured, with a small smile on his lips and a faint blush on his cheeks, and then picked up his newspaper again.


	5. Cinq

Several weeks of trying to fly and failing left Vickie in a dull mood. She didn't like going to class because the boys would taunt her for not being able to fly, and it didn't help that Joel was now a classmate. He always seemed to be staring at her, not that she was looking herself, but whenever she turned her head, he was always there, watching her whatever she did. She never asked him why because she didn't like talking to him, so she just went about her life ignoring him. Warren was patient as she tried to fly but soon even he gave up, saying that her wings her fine, it was her 'will' to fly that was the problem. So, he left her to continue the exercises on her own, not that she minded.

She would plug in her Mp3 player and dance, her wings fluttering and moving to the beat; she would glow, as well, when she was alone and able to dance her heart out. She and Isabelle used to dance all the time, during breaks and class; they shared the same songs as each other, and would choose one and dance to it. They were quite good, too, though they wouldn't admit it.

She was sitting in her room reading a book and listening to her music when someone knocked on her door, but she didn't hear it so she jumped when a hand waved in her face. She looked up at Scott, who seemed annoyed, and fear rose; did he want to talk?

"Y-yeah?" she asked apprehensively.

"Logan wants to see you," he said curtly. "He's in the Danger Room." And he left, leaving Vickie filled with relief and a smidgen of guilt. She got up and wandered down to the lower levels of the mansion; when she stepped out of the elevator, she could hear someone swearing and assumed it was Logan battling sentinels. Cautiously, she opened the door and a blast of hot air hit her full force in the face; she gasped, staggering back and then looked inside. Logan was battling an army of shiny robots, and their heads were flying in all directions, some landing amidst the throng and destroying other sentinels. She watched as he kicked and slashed and dived out of the way, then leapt to his feet with a roar and charged. After several breathtaking minutes, all the sentinels were destroyed.

"Come in so the door can shut," Logan ordered, breathing hard. Cautiously, Vickie inched her way in and jumped when the doors slid shut. Logan was sweating all over, and his black uniform was half destroyed, exposing his muscular chest.

"S-Scott said you wanted to see me. What did you want?" she asked again, feeling the tide of apprehension for the second time that day.

"What?" Logan yelled. "I can't hear what you're saying."

"I said Scott said you wanted to see me!"

"Huh? Oh yeah! How's the flying going?"

"It's going great!" Vickie replied at a yell. "I just need to learn how."

Logan laughed and draped an arm around her. The scene hadn't disappeared, and Vickie was a little uneasy; she could feel something coming, but she didn't say anything as Logan steered her towards a dead sentinel to sit on. "You still haven't gotten airborne?" He sighed, and then stuck a finger in his ear, scratching the inside. "Fucking explosions, always damaging my hearing." He sneezed. "And the stench is killing me!" He sighed and then smiled at her. "So…how's life been? Besides not being able to fly."

"Well, it's good. Although Joel is being a bastard, as is Jonathon."

"You want me to kill them for you?" Logan asked, and Vickie smiled.

"No, I don't think the Professor or Scott would approve of you murdering two students, especially Scott." She smiled, thinking he would take it as a joke but Logan looked wretched in the pale glow of the fires.

"…Why especially Scott?" he asked, not meeting her eyes.

"Uh…it was a joke." He looked at her with a faint blush and then grinned wolfishly.

"I see," he said. "Well, he wouldn't have to know about it, though the Professor knows everything. So anything else besides two assholes pissing you off?"

"Well, there's this one girl, Lea, and she's really cool. We hang out together and talk about everything. She reminds me of Isabelle…I miss her, and Mom." She sighed. "Mom especially. She was always so kind and understanding, and she didn't hassle me like most parents do." She smiled as she thought of her mother, and suddenly tears appeared and an anger rose in her chest. "She shouldn't have died like that," she said, her voice breaking from sorrow and fury. "She just opened the door and they shot her without any warning." Her rage was growing, and the ground began trembling.

Suddenly, a massive sentinel came charging towards them, and before Logan could react, it swiped him across the clearing and he hit his head on a dead machine, lying still once he stopped. The sentinel looked at him with a red glowing eye and then slowly turned back to Vickie, who was staring at it. It turned fully to face her and drew itself up to its full height, almost thrice her height. Quickly, she leapt off the dead machine as a large metal hand came down, crushing it completely. She fell over a stray piece of metal and landed on her rump, staring up at the looming killing machine. It stood above her, staring down at her with an evil red eye; she found herself thinking that Scott's eye was calm and peaceful compared to this but the thought didn't last.

"Vickie!" she heard someone shout as the sentinel lifted its left arm; Vickie rolled over onto her stomach and tried to push herself up off the ground so she could run but a metal hand connected with the base of her spine and crushed her against the ground. She screamed in agony as her spine broke, the fist crushing her bones; then it just crumpled and its head rolled away from its body as Logan leapt over it and rushed to her side. He held her shoulders as she writhed on the ground, making the pain worse, and bent his head close to her ear.

"Vickie," he said softly, "calm down and relax. You're okay; you just need to heal and you'll be fine."

"It hurts," Vickie whimpered, twitching and then crying out in pain.

"I know but it won't in a few minutes. Just try and ride it out; I'm here, okay?" He held his hand out to her and she took it, squeezing it tight. She stared at his face, and with her peripheral she watched as the Danger Room illusion disappeared to be replaced with a dull looking circular room. The pain was constant as her bones repaired themselves; right at the end, there was a loud snap, and she bit down on a scream, but she whimpered, her lip bleeding as her teeth sank into it. She was sweating freely, and Logan was beginning to as well as he saw the pain in her eyes as she stared up at him. A small sigh escaped her lips as the pain stopped and she wriggled her hips experimentally; she smiled faintly at Logan when it felt normal and he sighed with relief. He pulled her up into his arms and just sat with her, gently rocking back and forward, lightly kissing her forehead a couple of times.

Vickie gripped the front of his Kevlar uniform and closed her eyes, feeling weak and exhausted; she'd never been so extensively hurt before and she hadn't realised how painful it was to heal. The pair must have sat there for at least half an hour before the doors slid open and Scott, Storm and Jean came in. They were all surprised to see Logan cradling Vickie in his arms, and Storm assumed the worst.

"Vickie!" she cried, running to Logan's side. She thought she had been killed and sighed with relief when she saw Vickie looking at Logan's zipper. Scott was kneeling down beside them as well, and he frowned at her.

"What happened?" he asked, now looking at Logan whose cheek was resting on the teenager's forehead. Neither of them replied and he became frustrated. "Hey, I asked you a question! What the hell happened? We found the Professor on the floor passed out because he felt so much pain, and he said we should find you." He grabbed Logan's shoulder and forced him to look at him. Logan had tears in his eyes, and the breath was sucked out from Scott.

"I made a mistake," Logan whispered and stood up with Vickie in his arms; she looked up at him and he looked at her, a tear falling on her cheek. Tentatively, she reached up with dirty hands and touched his face; he stiffened under them but stopped moving, his back to the three X-Men.

"Don't cry," she whispered so only he would hear. "It wasn't your fault; I don't blame you. Please don't cry." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up so that she could rest her chin on his shoulder; his arms tightened around her back and he burrowed his nose into her neck. Vickie could see through her half shut eyelids that all three adults were stunned by this sentiment, and they watched with interest. They stood for almost ten minutes, entwined with each other, until Logan gently put her on her feet and smiled down at her.

"You never get used to the feeling of healing," he said.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie was sitting with her classmates in professor Xavier's room, listening to him go on about some dreary English novel she'd already read twice; she zoned out, staring out over his shoulder up to the perfect clear sky. She felt her wings ruffle and she let a small smile grace her lips, wishing that she could fly.

"All right, class," the Professor said, smiling kindly at them. "You may go. Vickie, could you please stay behind?"

Vickie remained seated as the other students gave her a wary look and walked out of the classroom; she noticed Joel staring at her as he passed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. The Professor continued to smile at her as the last student left, closing the door behind her. Vickie stared at the old man, and he stared back, his eyes flickering across her face. She knew he was searching her mind, and she had an inkling about what the thought was.

"Vickie," he said after five minutes, "you have become a little unsettled since you developed your wings; did something happen while you were asleep?"

Vickie stared at him, and sighed, nodding her head pathetically. She heard the sound of his electric chair rolling towards her, and then two wrinkled hands took hers. She looked at the Professor, who was smiling as kindly as ever at her, his eyes staying still.

"Can you tell me what you remembered?"

Vickie swallowed around the lump in her throat, and nodded slowly. She then began relating her memories of before the age of ten, and at the end of half an hour, she was crying and he was holding her gently.

"I hate myself," she whispered. "I'm ashamed to be alive, and I wish I would die."

"Vickie, you mustn't think like that, not ever." She looked at the Professor and he smiled, though she could see a small amount of anger in his blue eyes. "You might hate yourself, but that doesn't mean you want to die."

"I killed someone!" Vickie exclaimed, standing up to pace. She pulled at her hair. "You should throw me out because of what I did!" She yelled in frustration. "I don't remember anything else, which means I could have killed other people and not remember it." She stopped pacing and looked at him. "What if I'm a mass murderer? What if I'm a serial killer and I start again, with all the people here?" Panic began to rise. "Oh, God, I have to leave! I have to get out before I start killing people!"

"Vickie, calm down." Vickie looked at the Professor who was smiling as if in amusement.

"This is no time to be smiling!" she yelled at him. "I just told you I murdered someone and you're laughing at it!" She took a deep breath as her hands shook and she clasped them together. "I think I should leave," she said.

"If that is what you think, then I will not stop you." He took her hand and pulled her closer to him. "But be in mind of those who love you here, those who would probably fall apart without you."

"Like who?" Vickie about whispered.

"Logan, for starters. He loves you like a daughter, because you are so alike and you make him sane and non-aggressive towards Scott. Actually, since you've come along, he's realised his feelings for Scott, and vice versa but that's a different subject, one I will not discuss with you. And speaking of Scott, he loves you as well, like Logan. But he's nervous, because he thinks you don't like him so he stays away. Then there is Dr. Hank, and Storm, and Lea. They will all miss you if you leave. And what about Ethan and Joel?"

Vickie rolled her eyes. "What about them?" she asked impatiently.

"…I don't think you deserve to know just yet." Vickie frowned. "And what about Danny? He adores you, and you're just going to leave him here with no friends?"

"He has other friends," Vickie replied. "And he has Logan."

"Yes, but he'd rather have you as his friend." He sighed and looked down at their clasped hands. "I wasn't going to tell you this until you learnt to fly but your fourth mutation has already come through."

"Really?" Vickie asked, suddenly apprehensive. "What is it?"

"Calmness."

"What?"

"Whenever someone is around you, they become calm and don't get angry. Like Logan; when you are with him, he is more civilised, though not always. And Lea was a troublemaker before you became her friend, and Joel…well, I think I'll let him tell you. You see, if you leave, everything will be in turmoil again, and everyone will start hating and blaming each other. I need you to stay here for the others, the ones who love you so they don't fall apart when you leave."

"_When _I leave?" Vickie echoed. "Are you sending me somewhere?"

With a sigh, the Professor looked at her straight in the eye. "I know that soon you will leave, because in your mind it's already made up. But stay for a while, please. I know you feel wretched because of your past but in time you'll feel better."

"…I make people calm?" she queried. "How? Do I radiate calmness from my pores or something?"

"Precisely. I think it's to do with your Mutation, and all its branches. It would make sense that they're all connected."

"I know," Vickie sighed. "Dr. Hank told me after I got my wings that I hadn't stopped mutating, and that there'd be possibly more to come." She shrugged, and then sighed.

"Vickie." She looked up. "Think about it."

She nodded and left, climbing the stairs to her room. She jumped when she saw Joel sitting on her bed, looking at her thoughtfully. Feeling exhausted, she didn't even try to fight with him.

"Yes?" she asked, dumping her bag and walking to the window. It was raining, and the raindrops pattered against the glass.

"What did the Professor want to talk to you about?"

Vickie stiffened and looked at him over her shoulders. He still wore the stupid trench coat to cover his wings, and he still had the same blank expression. "Nothing important," she lied. She looked out the window again, and watched as flock of birds tried to fly through the raging winds. Her bed squeaked and she looked back at Joel, who had come to stand beside her.

"You're lying," he said softly.

"So?" Vickie sighed, returning her gaze to the birds. A longing filled her, and her wings fluttered apprehensively; Joel noticed this and his fingers itched to touch her white feathers.

"Why are you lying?" he asked, clenching his fist.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it so please…just leave."

There was a short silence and then she felt his presence leave; her door creaked slowly as it shut and she sighed relief, trudging to her bed and flopping down on it. She pulled the pillow into a hug and rested her head on it, closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep. But, just as she was about to doze off, someone knocked on her door and entered.

"Hey, there…you okay?" Vickie looked at Ethan and blanched. They hadn't spoken in a while, and she was quite surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Huh? Oh, uh, why wouldn't I be?" She smiled nervously and watched him cautiously as he came to sit on the end of her bed.

"Well, you just looked a little down, that's all." He smirked at her. "And I'm ever so good at reading Miss Hammond's emotions, aren't I?"

"No, you git." Vickie scowled and crossed her arms and legs simultaneously. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to come and have a friendly chat. Why? Aren't I allowed to?"

"Well," Vickie said, feigning thoughtfulness and tipping her head to the side, "considering that this is the first time you've actually acknowledged my presence in a few weeks…no, I'd say you _aren't_ allowed."

"Aw, Vickie, babe, you're breaking my heart." Here he pouted, and Vickie found herself melting under his puppy-eyed gaze. "I'm sorry I haven't been to see you in a while, but don't you know where we are?" Vickie blinked dumbly. "We're in a school for Mutants, powerful Mutants just like us who accept everyone."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, they accept those who have mastered their mutations." She looked at the knee. "What about those who can't?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ethan, frowning at her.

"Never mind," she muttered. "Look, I'm really tired, and I'd like to have some sleep. Do you think you could…you know, go away?"

Ethan laughed and stood up, arching his back. "All right," he said, coming to her side and standing over her. "Sleep well, runt." He kissed her forehead and left, closing the door behind him. Vickie scowled and rubbed the wet patch from existence; lying down and pulling the covers up to her chin, she thought about her wings, pressing into her back. If only she had the right motivation to use them, then no one would ridicule her. Like at lunch, when she'd been with Lea in the gardens, talking about anything; two Mutants, a boy and girl, had wandered up to her and promptly sat down without permission.

"So," the boy had said, grinning at her. "You're the Mutant who can't use her powers huh?" He sniggered, and his companion, a dark haired girl, took up the belittlement.

"That's disgraceful," she had said, smiling wickedly. "You should be able to use your powers straight away."

Vickie had just stared at the pair, and then smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, do I know you? Because, I don't think I've ever seen you two before, and I'm not sure why two complete strangers are making fun of me."

They both seemed a little stunned at her smile, and then grinned wickedly. "Well, that's understandable," the girl then said, leaning heavily on her partner. "You don't look like the type to be observant."

Vickie had risen to her feet sharply, her wings snapping open to full capacity, almost seven feet; she began glowing, and her hair began to float. "I don't appreciate your meagre insults," she had said darkly, clenching her fists at her side.

"Rogue! Bobby! What are you doing?"

The two newcomers turned to stare at Logan, who was livid with rage; they scattered as soon as they saw him, and Vickie slowly calmed down. Logan walked up to the teenager and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You all right, kid?" he asked, and she nodded slowly. Her wings slowly came in, and then she'd had to go to class.

Presently, her thoughts were interrupted as someone barged through her door, launching themself onto her back; Vickie cried out in pain and surprise, and then heard the giggling that gave Lea away.

"What do you want, Lea?" she moaned, rolling over and siting up as her friend sat at the end of her bed, giggling hysterically. She was pretty, with long blonde hair and a heart shaped face; she had an hourglass figure, which she complimented by wearing designer clothes and heels, making her seem tall. Her power was to electrocute people, and Vickie had found out firsthand how potent the shock was.

"Nothing!" the girl said, pretending to play coy. "Apart from the fact in a few weeks the students get to tag along with the X-Team on a mission!" By the end of her sentence, her voice was at squealing level, and it hurt Vickie's ears.

"Wait, what?" the startled teenager asked, staring dumbly at her friend.

"I said, we get to go on a mission in a few weeks!"

Vickie sat paralysed in her bed, gripping her cover tightly in white knuckled hands; go on a mission? But that would mean she'd have to fly at some point, and she couldn't! She didn't want to embarrass the hell out of her, and it seemed like she'd never fly at this point.

"Earth to Vickster!" Lea called, waving a hand in front of her friend's eyes. When that didn't work, she touched the tip of Vickie's nose, sending a bolt of electricity through her skull, practically throwing her into the wall behind her.

"Ow!" Vickie yelled, clutching her throbbing head. "What the hell was that for, you bitch?"

"You were like, spaced out," was the terse reply, the beautiful Mutant checking her nails absently. "Anyway, what do you think about the news?"

"That really hurt, you slag!"

"Vickie, I asked you a question; it's not polite to ignore it."

Vickie sighed, her wings spreading out to conceal her from view; she didn't want to go on the mission. She wanted to just sit at home in her bed, or watch television, not risk her neck and her pride. Suddenly, someone gently peeled away the layers of feathers, and she looked up into the concerned face of none other than Scott. _When did he arrive_? she panicked, jumping slightly as her wings moved away to reveal the rest of her bed. Lea was gone, and the older Mutant took her place at the end of the bed.

"Vickie?" he asked gently, something that was quite unlike him.

"Y-yeah?" she stuttered, blushing as she realised she was wearing a very skimpy singlet. She lifted the cover to her chin, and stared at him over her knees; he was watching her back, his face full of concern.

"I gather Lea told you about being able to come along on a mission?" he asked.

"Yeah," was the saddened reply.

"You don't look as excited as the other kids," he stated, a little awkwardly. "Why is that?" Vickie didn't want to reply, so she bit her bottom lip and looked away to the side. "Is it because you can't use your wings?" Damn him; he always seemed to know exactly what was wrong. Scott sighed, and shifted closer till he was almost in her lap. He touched her knee, or where he thought it was, and gave her an awkward smile. "It's all right to not know how to use your powers, Vickie," he said softly, and she looked at him, a tiny trace of tears in her eyes. "More likely than not there'll be nothing to do on this mission; it's just a routine check on some trouble makers. And besides, you'll have a teacher there to help you and to guide you, so you don't need to feel scared."

Vickie stared at him, wishing he'd go away. Didn't he know what he was doing to her? Didn't he know he reminded her exactly of her father?

He smiled again, and stood up, his hand sliding from her knee; it was all Vickie could do not to reach out and take his hand, to pull him back to her and give him a hug. "You'll be fine," he said as he stood at the door, looking back over his shoulder. "I believe in you."

A/N: All right, this is my first ever author's note. So, here's the next instalment of Cinq; pretty shit huh? I couldn't think of how to end it, and this ending seems a little weird, don't you think? I have to give thanks to a Red Red Red Ribbon for getting me off my arse and into gear, as this chapter probably wouldn't have been finished for another few weeks.

So…what's Vickie going to do about the mission thing? And what's up with Scott?

Also, there's another story of mine called 'Temporarily Permanent', and it would be a great honour to me if all the people who like this story read that one.

Second also, thanks to Certh, icydragon14, kanichiwa bitches and Jinx of the 2nd Law for being the only ones to review and send me love; it's well appreciated, kiddies, let me tell you that.

Sincerely, Iwandamonian.

Third also, there'll be several mistakes, 'cause I really can't be fucked to check over.


	6. Six

Hello

Hello! For the first time! Don't you feel special? I actually said something at the start of my story! YAY!!

Anyway, this is the sixth chapter of Cinq as you may have guessed, and it contains the mission!

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not mine, and then there are a few exceptions…(or not)

The few weeks came sooner than expected, and Vickie was getting more apprehensive as the days went on; soon she'd be on the way to a mental breakdown. She was walking in the hallway Mission Eve and everyone around her was buzzing with anticipation. No one would talk about anything else, and it was driving her bonkers! Classes seemed to come to a halt, as the students just wanted to ask questions, and soon even Scott gave up. On her way to the cafeteria, Vickie bumped into Logan, and he drew her off to the side.

"Hey, Vickie," he greeted, and she grunted. "What's wrong?" he asked, placing a warm hairy hand on her shoulder. "Nervous about the mission?"

"Yes," she mumbled, pouting. "Everyone's all geared up and it's fine for them, but what about those who can't use their powers?" She sighed and shook her head. "What if I need to use my wings and I can't and it all falls apart because of me?"

"Vickie," Logan said, his voice strangely serious, "nothing is going to go wrong. And you'll be with me."

"How do you know?" she queried as they began walking towards the gardens. "I could end up with Hank."

"I rigged it so we'd be together." He slung an arm lazily about her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "Scott was a little peeved that I did that but it's not like he can do anything."

"He might change the roster?" Vickie suggested, but Logan shook his head.

"Not old Stick-up-his-ass Scott," he remarked and Vickie laughed, shaking her head. "Besides, I'd just ignore what he says and stick with you anyways."

She laughed again and rested her head against his shoulder. "Thank you; I feel better now that I know you'll be there to protect me."

Logan smiled and looked down at her. "I'll always be there to protect you," he said softly.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was nerve-racking waiting for the jet to come, and it didn't help that she was self-conscious about her black Kevlar uniform. It was backless, for her wings to be used with ease, and as her luck would have it there was a cold breeze blowing that night. Shivering beside Lea, she looked around at all the apprehensive Mutants; she saw Ethan standing with his group of large young men. He saw her looking his way and he smiled at her; hastily looking away, she sought out Logan, who was busy arguing with Scott…again.

"You're cold," a sudden voice stated and Vickie screamed in surprise, her wings opening involuntarily and she began to glow. Whirling around, she saw Joel standing before her, an almost invisible smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Joel!" she yelled at him, punching him in the chest softly. "Don't _do_ that!"

He didn't say anything and Vickie sighed, turning away from him. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she could see him standing beside her, wearing his own Kevlar uniform but with his trench coat covering it and his wings; why didn't he like showing his wings? Shrugging inwardly, she watched as Scott called everyone to silence.

"All right," he said, his voice easily heard from the very back. "I know you're all excited about going on this mission with us, and even though it's a routine check-up, I want everyone to be extra careful. Something might go wrong, but I highly doubt it. Now," he continued, "there's another thing I want you to do. Each of the X-men has a code name, and I want you lot to have one as well. So when I split you up into your groups, I want you to think about what you'll call yourself and then tell your leader. All right: time to get you into your groups. Listen for your name being called by your leader."

Vickie looked up at Lea, who was grinning down at her, her eyes shining with anticipation. "What is it?" the winged girl whispered.

"What are you going to name yourself?"

Vickie thought for a minute and then shrugged. "Don't know," she said. "You?"

"I like 'Electro'," the other girl replied.

"Electro," Vickie tested, and then smiled. "It suits you."

"Thanks! What about you, Joel?" Vickie rolled her eyes and looked at him; he seemed to be surprised he was being talked to.

"I don't know," he replied, staring at Lea. Vickie looked up to her friend and her jaw dropped when she saw her blushing; was she crushing on _Joel_?

"Vickie, Lea, Joel, Ethan, Jonathon…you five are with Logan."

The five people whose names had been called out pushed through the crowd towards Logan, who stood grinning at them. In his hand was a clipboard and he was leaning against a brick wall.

"Welcome," he said, grinning. "I will be your leader this evening, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Okay…have you thought of your names?"

"Yes!" three-fifths of the group yelled.

"Good! What are they?"

"Hawk!" Jonathon called.

"Electro!" said Lea.

"Flamethrower!" Ethan stated.

"Right," Logan said as he wrote the three names down. "And what about you two?" He looked at Vickie and Joel, who were standing abreast and staring at him with blank expressions. "You don't know?" They nodded mutely, both feeling a little ashamed. "Well…Joel, you have wings, right?"

"He does?" Ethan and Jonathon asked in chorus.

"Yeah!" Lea replied, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you know?"

"If we asked if he does then we wouldn't, would we?" Lea glared at Jonathon, who smirked and let his wings flutter.

"Well, what colour they are?" Logan was ignoring the squabbling trio and walked over to Vickie and Joel. Joel didn't want to reply so Vickie, who was slightly impatient with him, replied for him.

"They're black," she said, and felt him glare at her.

"Can you do anything else?" Logan asked, glancing at Vickie.

"Well, he can coerce people."

"He can what?" asked the dumbfounded leader. "Coerce people?"

"Yeah…he tried it on me but I blocked it somehow." Logan grinned at her and she grinned back, a little proud of herself. When she saw Joel staring at her, she scowled and looked away to the ground.

"So…what's black and has mind powers?"

"A demon!" Jonathon suddenly called out, and beside her Joel twitched with anger. She looked up at him and saw him glaring daggers at the other Mutant. Jonathon, being the thick idiot he was, didn't notice and continued. "His name should be Demon!"

"Joel?" Logan asked, looking at the furious boy.

"Demon," he said through clenched teeth, and Logan though he was agreeing, so he scribbled the name down.

"Now Vickie," he said, "I have absolutely no idea what to call you. We can't call you 'Angel' because that's Warren's name."

"How about 'Small Fry'?" Jonathon suggested.

"Fuck you, Jonathon!" Vickie yelled, flipping him the bird.

"Hey!" Scott yelled from a few metres away. He'd heard her swear, and he didn't like it. "No swearing!"

"Yeah, Vickie," Jonathon sneered. "No swearing."

Vickie started glowing and her wings spread out to their full length. She growled under her breath and then a roar broke loose from her throat. She was in his face in under a second, and he choked on a startled scream. She then grinned wolfishly and his knees collapsed; she now stood above him, and lifted her foot to stomp on his nether regions.

"Vickie!" Logan yelled, grabbing her neck and tugging her away. She immediately calmed down and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said. "Got a little out of hand."

"Well, just don't let it happen again." He gave her a wary glance before frowning. "You glow," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, I do," she replied dryly. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"You could incorporate it into your name. You could be…I dunno…what could you be?"

"A torch?" she asked uncertainly.

"That sounds too…weird." Logan frowned and pressed his thumb to his chin, deep in thought. He suddenly clicked his fingers and grinned at her. "How about 'Beacon'?"

"'Beacon'?" Vickie repeated dubiously. "Are you sure? It sounds like 'bacon'."

"Shush," Logan snapped. "It does not. Okay, that's decided; you're Beacon. So, we have Hawk, Electro, Flamethrower, Demon and Beacon. Yo, Scoot! We ready to roll, yet?"

"Give me a minute, will you?" came the testy reply.

"So, _Beacon_," Lea teased, nudging Vickie with her elbow and shocking her slightly, "how are you feeling about the mission? Still quacking in your little black boots?"

"Fuck off, Lea," Vickie snapped, in no mood for her theatrics. "Just because you and everyone else has gotten their powers down, doesn't mean _I_ have."

"No need to get all defensive, Vickie," Lea complained. "I was just teasing."

"Yeah, well I'm in no mood for it."

"God, you're such a stick in the mud sometimes." She clapped Vickie on the back and sent volts of electricity running down her spine, making Vickie's wings shoot out and knock several people down. "So relax and have fun."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Vickie stood shivering against the tall outer wall of the fortress they were investigating, hoping that they'd be allowed in soon or her wings would freeze off. Beside her, Logan was talking indistinguishably to Scott, and together with Storm they were coordinating an infiltration plan. Lea was huddled with Jonathon and Ethan, and Joel was a few feet away, scouting for any unwanted visitors.

"Okay, you five," Logan hissed, beckoning them in closer. "We have to find a door around here and then get it open. Cyclops said that there's a combination we have to enter, but he doesn't know it so we're going to have to figure it out."

"Why can't I just zap it?" Lea asked, and Logan stared at her.

"Okay, then after that," he continued, grinning at his group, "we have to follow a certain path that'll take us to the bunks of these Mutants. There may still be some in there, so be careful and try not to be too heroic, okay Hawk?"

"Sure," Jonathon muttered, his wings flapping dismissively.

"All right then; let's go."

The six set off to find the door, and when they did, Lea pressed a finger to the number pad and fried it. The door slid open and they entered, tripping over their own feet in the dark. There was a snap and suddenly Ethan's fingers were covered in flames, and they could see again. Vickie was still cold, and she couldn't stop shivering, even when someone draped a coat over her. She gawked at Joel and he merely glanced at her as he past by, his wings glossy in the flame's light. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she pulled it tighter around her, and she suddenly found herself very warm.

"Slut," Lea murmured playfully in her ear as she past her, and Vickie kicked her in the butt in retaliation. Logan scolded them when they were about to start hitting each other, and then they laughed under their breath, their voices echoing eerily off the shiny wet walls.

"This way," Logan said, and the group followed him, keeping an ear out for any oncoming attacker or Mutant. No one spoke for a few minutes before someone suddenly passed wind, and Logan, Lea, Vickie, Ethan and Joel all glared at Jonathon.

"What?" he said, flouncing onwards. "I'm excited."

"Yeah, we heard," Logan muttered, and Vickie and Lea laughed. They walked for another ten minutes before Logan stopped and stood perfectly still. "No one move," he whispered, and they all stopped exactly where they were. Now that they'd all stopped, they could hear what Logan's sensitive hearing had picked up: running footsteps. They were fast, and slightly abnormal, as if the person was injured. "Flamethrower, douse the light." They were pitched into darkness and Vickie's breathing became ragged. As her eyes adjusted, she could see something coming towards them from the side, and when she looked behind her, she saw another person sprinting towards them.

"Logan," she whispered, reaching out with a shaking hand and grabbing the back of his Kevlar uniform. "There's someone behind us too."

"I know," he said, and turned to face them all. They all jumped when someone screamed at them, and Vickie began quacking fearfully. "I want all of you guys to run. Run until you find Scott, and then get the hell out of here. I'll hold these guys off so it'll give you guys some time, okay?"

"But-" Vickie tried to argue but Logan silenced her with a look.

"Go now." The five of them ran off, Vickie having to be towed by Ethan, as she didn't want to leave Logan to defend by himself. She knew it was wrong, and wanted to go back and help. They ran for a few minutes before Jonathon complained of a stitch and had to stop.

"Jeez, get in shape, will you?" Lea snapped, and he swore at her. Vickie stood at the edge of the group and stared back the way they had come. She could faintly hear Logan roaring as he attacked and felt so bad for leaving him. Joel was watching her and making sure she didn't try and race back into the fray. Vickie was shivering from fear now, and she gasped when she sensed something to her right. Screaming, she leapt away just as a clawed hand swiped at the very place she had been standing. A body emerged, and it was lea's turn to scream. The Mutant was horribly deformed, looking more like a wolf than a human. It was clearly a man, as he was stark naked, and he kept his red glowing eyes on Vickie as she backed away until she pressed against the wall.

"Vickie!" lea cried as Jonathon pulled her away. Joel and Ethan stood close by, ready to act if the Mutant tried attacking her. But Vickie seemed to be in control of the situation, as she was calming him down.

"We're not here to hurt you," she said, her voice breaking in the middle. "We're just here on a recon mission." The Mutant stared at her with calm red eyes and she realised he couldn't talk. "Will you let us pass?" The Mutant tilted his head to the side and then grinned wolfishly, his incisors growing even longer. "I'll take that as a no," Vickie said, held up her hands as the Mutant pounced.

"Vickie!" both Joel and Ethan cried, and Ethan threw a handful of fire at him, sending him soaring through the air. Joel grabbed Vickie's bloodied hand and hauled her to her feet, then proceeded to drag her down the corridor after the rest of the group.

"Why didn't you duck?" he asked as they ran and she looked back over her shoulder as Ethan came hurtling after them.

"Go faster!" he yelled as the aggravated Mutant bounded after him. "He's gone mad!" Vickie and Joel looked at each other and then dropped hands, knowing they were going to need everything they had. The trio soon caught up with Lea and Jonathon and Ethan took the lead, turning left up a flight of stairs. When they emerged from the darkness onto a broken grating walkway, Jonathon turned on Ethan.

"Now we're trapped, idiot! How are we going to get out of _this_? We shouldn't have gone up here, and now that psychotic Mutant is going to kill us!"

"Enough!" Vickie screamed, her voice reverberating off the walls. The walkway they were on was one of many in a large room. The floor was one hundred feet below, and the open roof one hundred feet above, and in the middle of the room was a chain hanging from a higher walkway. Everyone turned to look down at Vickie and they saw how scared she looked. "That isn't helping, Jonathon, so shut up and think! You have wings, Joel has wings, and I have wings. You two can carry Lea and Ethan, right?"

"Yeah, but your wings don't work!" Ethan argued. "You'd plummet straight to the ground and _die_!"

"Maybe this is the motivation I need," Vickie said, and the group jumped when the angry Mutant howled; he was right behind them. "Hurry!"

"What if it doesn't work?" Jonathon asked as he glanced fearfully behind him.

"It's the only thing we have, so it has to! Now grab Ethan and fly up to the walkway above!" The two boys with wings each grabbed a non-winged Mutant and took flight; Jonathon was a little wobbly but Joel glided through the air, Lea clinging to him fearfully. Vickie unfolded her wings and took a deep breath. The Mutant was right behind her when she took a running jump and she hoped to God her wings wouldn't give out. She glided for a few feet and then began to fall.

"Vickie!" Ethan roared, watching from the walkway above as she began to plummet. But Vickie reached out and grabbed the chain, swinging around and around until she stopped, shuddering with fright. The pursuing Mutant watched her as she watched him, and then he backed up, preparing to copy her.

"Climb!" someone yelled, and Vickie did. One hand over the other, she hauled herself up the chain, all the while glancing down at the Mutant. He jumped and missed the chain and went plunging into the darkness. Vickie gasped as she realised that could have been her but she didn't linger too long on that thought. She gasped when someone touched her shoulder and saw Joel hovering beside her, waiting to take her up to the walkway. When they landed, Vickie's legs collapsed and she knelt on the grating, shuddering and trying not to cry.

"Hey!" someone suddenly yelled, and she jumped to her feet, thinking it was another attacker. But it was only Scott, Storm and a few other student Mutants. "Where's Logan?" Scott asked as he came forward.

"Right here," Logan announced, materialising out of the shadows behind his group. "Sorry I took so long, guys; those two were tougher than I originally thought. Vickie?" he asked, seeing how white she was. "What's wrong?" Vickie leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing and trying to explain what had befallen them. But her words were incoherent and Lea explained instead.

"Smart girl," Logan murmured, stroking her hair as she clung to him.

"It's not safe here," Scott said, and began ordering everyone to evacuate. "Logan," he said, and the Wolverine looked at him. "Get her out of here."

"Right," Logan said, and watched as Storm blew him and several other students out through the open ceiling. He turned to go back the way he'd come but there was someone blocking his path. It was one of the Mutants he'd fought earlier, and it was staggering but still strong. "You never give up, do you?" Logan asked it, and it growled at him. Logan threw Vickie over his shoulder and she screamed as the enemy Mutant charged at him. Logan caught the full extent on his chest and he was thrown off balance. The Mutant leapt onto his chest and they both went over the side.

"_Logan_!" Vickie screamed and dived over the side after him. Radiating a pure white light, her wings began pumping and she went all that faster. When she could, she grabbed Logan under the arms and pulled out of her dive ten feet from the ground. The other not-so-lucky Mutant hit the ground and splattered everywhere, and Vickie felt sick. But she needed to fly, and forced her wings to beat. Slowly, they ascended, and Logan gawked at her when they came out into the crisp night air. Not being used to the weight, Vickie began to lose altitude, and she fought to fly away from the fortress towards the Jet. Her eyes began to cloud and she was gasping for breath, and she slowly lost her grip on him but it didn't really matter; they were only thirty feet up. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet, watching as she veered to the right and crashed into some trees.

"Vickie!" he yelled as she tumbled down through the branches and finally hit the hard ground.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Vickie opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in the infirmary lying on the medical slab. She blinked twice and then attempted to sit up but she winced in pain and lay still. She thought about what had happened, and only remembered Logan falling over the side of the walkway.

"Good evening, Vickie," Dr. Hank said, and Vickie turned her head to look at him. He was staring at X-rays, and she assumed they were hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Very sore," she grumbled and he laughed.

"Well, you'll be fine in an hour or so; your body just needs to finish repairing itself."

"How bad?" Vickie asked.

"Well, your wings nearly snapped off and both your arms were broken. Also, you had a bone sticking out of leg, and your skull was split open."

"Wow," Vickie murmured. She felt privileged to be alive.

"Wow, indeed, and all that from a nasty fall."

"A fall?" Vickie asked, confused. "I fell?"

"My dear, you don't remember?" Vickie shook her head. "My, that's too bad. You were quite impressive according to Logan. He said you dived after him when the Mutant knocked him over the railing, and that you flew him out of there. But then you got too weak to carry him and crashed into some trees at a phenomenal speed and then fell to earth."

Vickie opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She'd _flown_? It was impossible to get her head around and then she started crying just as Logan walked in. he froze as he saw her crying but smiled when he realised no long-term damage had been done. He walked to her side and leant down to hug her and she wrapped her arms around him, even though she didn't know whom it was that was holding her.

"Thank you," Logan whispered and Vickie sniffed, wiping her nose on her wrist. "You saved my life." He grinned at her and kissed her on the cheek, and she started glowing. "And you flew. Congrats!"

"B-but I don't _remember_!" Vickie said and began bawling again.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Okay, it took some time to get this out but please don't hate me. And I know it's not exactly Shakespeare (it never will be because I don't particularly like his works) but it's what there is. And I doubt there's going to be next chapter for a few months because I'm doing something else so don't hold your breath unless you're weird and have a weird idea of how you want to commit suicide. Whatever floats your boat.

'Til whenever, Iwandamonian.


End file.
